SasoDei One Gold Doubloon
by AkatsukiMemberWoolfy
Summary: Deidara had been a simple impoverished street rat; that is, until he was hired aboard the Pirate Ship known as the Lightning Queen. Now all he has to do is figure out how the hell he is going to stay alive around such cut-throat pirates! Not to mention his unusual attraction to the ship's doctor; the handsome stoic man with a venomous touch. Does Deidara even dare to survive?
1. The Lightning Queen

(This story isn't finished, but I thought that I would start posting it anyway *shrug* I'll be updating once or twice a week depending on my writing speed. Hope you likey.)

SasoDei - One Gold Doubloon

Chapter One

The Lightning Queen

Deidara was bobbing in the water, barely managing to tread water with his legs – his hands were currently tied tightly behind his back. The blonde's red haired lover was barely a metre away, but he appeared as calm as he always was. "Don't worry, Love." Sasori cooed tenderly, trying to comfort him in the dire situation that could only end in their deaths, "Everything will be alright."

"How can you say that, un?" Deidara gave him a wide eyed look of fear, "HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?! WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" He paled further once he saw the shark fin that began to circle them.

It pointed towards Sasori and sunk below the water's surface, though the blonde could still see the silver shimmer of the shark – it was headed for the red head. Sasori gave him a small tender smile, "I love you." The shark reached the older male and he disappeared underneath the surface of the water.

Deidara gave a loud scream, "DANNA!" Tears were rolling from his one eye – his other having been gouged out on his first night aboard the ship – the liquid mixing with the burning salt water that made up the relentless sea. The people in the pirate ship sadistically laughed, loud enough for the blonde to hear.

How had it even come to this? What had they done to deserve this cruel death anyway? They had been in love, and that had been their downfall…

-x-

Flashback:

"OI! GET BACK HERE!" Deidara bolted with the loaf of bread clutched tightly against his chest. The angry baker ran after him, waving a cane as he did so. The blonde was pushing his way through the crowds of foreigners and locals who were meeting at the dock-side markets.

Deidara lived in a large town called Iwa – it was a thriving community that was located near the ocean. The city had one of the largest ports in all the land, but the amount of poverty was astounding.

The blonde boy was nineteen years old, and he had been hungry and alone for as long as he could remember. Deidara abruptly ran into a woman, knocking them both to the ground. He hissed and was about to continue running away, but was stopped when two strong men abruptly grabbed him, a cutlass quickly positioned at his throat.

The woman got to her feet, repositioning her hat with a scowl at the blonde. Deidara paled when he recognised the style of the hat and of the girl's clothing; she could only be the captain of a pirate ship. And he guessed that the people holding him were her crewmen.

The baker arrived and growled at the boy, the cutlass being taken away from his throat as the man yanked the bread from Deidara's hands. "Filthy street rat!" The cronies let go of him as the man whacked him across the face with his cane. Deidara collapsed to the floor, clutching at his burning cheek in agony.

"Baker," the pirate captain spoke to the man with a voice full of anger, "this boy ran right into me! I demand that you punish him harder!"

Deidara felt at his cheek meekly – the man hadn't broken the skin but an angry bruise would definitely form soon. At least it had been on the left side of his face – his fringe would hide the majority of it. "Better yet! I'll sell the runt to you for two gold doubloons – as pirates you must be drowning in the stuff."

"This kid isn't worth even _one_ gold doubloon!" The woman gave a scowl before pulling out two shiny coins, "I'll give you two silver pieces…And you better throw in that loaf of bread." The man thought for a few seconds before smirking, taking the coins off of the woman and handing her the bread.

"You got yourself a deal, lady." He sniggered and disappeared amongst the crowd, leaving the blonde in the hands of the pirates. Deidara was pulled to his feet, stumbling as he stood, staring at the group of four.

The captain wore a prestigious outfit that was quite normal for the leader of a ship. Her hat possessed two long feathers that almost touched the ground – one was orange and the other was dark blue. Her clothes were coloured magenta, white and black, including a pair of tight short shorts, a large belt, a short white tank top, and a large open jacket which almost touched the floor. It was magenta with golden buttons, and she wore black boots that reached halfway up her thighs. Her ears were pierced and currently decorated with a pair of gold doubloon earrings. She possessed eyes that were green, and her hair was a light pink in colour. Her locks were tied in a low ponytail that reached halfway down her back, and the woman was currently snarling at Deidara.

The second crony was a boy who looked to be around the same age as the blonde. He had dark blue hair that resembled the butt of a parrot, and his eyes were dark. The third was the oldest of the lot, and he possessed deathly pale skin. His hair was long and raven black, reaching his lower back. The male had golden eyes that were positively snake-like, while he wore golden hoop earrings. The last male was only a few years older than the blonde, and he had dark eyes that were covered by a pair of circular glasses. His hair was grey and in each ear he wore silver earrings that were in the shape of stars.

Their clothes consisted of dirty tank tops, and shorts that had various stains on. Other than that, all of them were wearing matching royal blue jackets, although unlike the captain's theirs ended at their waists.

"Boy; you're going to be worked to the bone." The woman tossed him the loaf of bread and he eagerly caught it, "Enjoy that; it'll be the last decent thing that you will ever eat." Deidara swallowed – he didn't like the idea of working for the pirates until the day he died. "I'm Sakura Haruno, Captain of the ship known as the Lightning Queen. This is Sasuke, Orochimaru and Kabuto; they are my favourite crew members. The rest of the gang are still on the ship, while our navigator/doctor is off fetching some more medical supplies…Tell me your name."

The blonde swallowed again and looked down to his bread that no longer seemed to be of any worth, "…Deidara…"

"Good boy." Sakura turned to her cronies, "Kabuto, you can take 'Deidara' here to the ship. Show him the ropes…Punish him severely if he tries to run." The grey haired male gave a nod, smirking very slightly before he looked at the blonde.

"Let's go." Kabuto began to walk away, and Deidara assumed that he was supposed to follow behind him. The blonde quickly pursued the male, not wishing to suffer punishment for being slow. Deidara was led to a mighty ship, and Kabuto stopped just in front of it. "Welcome to the Lightning Queen."

It was a decent looking vessel, with broad white sails and a superior appearance about it. The flag which waved at the very top of the central mast was black with an elegant crown printed on it. There were three jewels on the accessory – one was blue, one was orange and one was pink. A lightning bolt pierced the crown right through the middle, and a pool of blood was forming around it.

Deidara swallowed and Kabuto walked up a plank that led onto the ship, and the blonde shakily followed, still clutching his bread tightly. He hadn't eaten in three days and he knew that he would have to eat, even if he no longer had the appetite. They went up onto the deck and Kabuto gave a shout, "Naruto!"

A male - of about the same age as Deidara - who was wearing clothes that were similar in quality to Sakura's poked his head out from one of the doors that lined the upper deck. He wore blue shorts, an orange shirt and a floor length jacket that was white - except it had black flame patterns at its ends. He had short blond hair and was wearing a hat similar to Sakura's, although the feathers were much shorter and coloured dark blue and pink. "Yes, Kabuto?"

"This is Deidara; Captain Sakura just bought him." The silver haired male pushed the blonde forward a few paces, and Deidara nearly dropped his bread. "Show him around."

Naruto nodded solemnly before fully exiting the room, closing his door behind him. He came down the steps to the main deck and Kabuto turned, leaving him in the hands of the blond. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, what's yours?" He smiled at the blonde but Deidara only flinched initially, before swallowing.

"…Deidara…" The blond gave a nod and put a hand out for him to take, although Deidara just shrunk away from the offered contact. He had been living on the streets since before he could remember; and it was extremely rare to ever be offered a friendly touch.

"…It's alright; I won't hurt you, Dattebayo…" He gave a notable grimace, "Just…Please be weary of some people here…Like Orochimaru and Kabuto…" Naruto looked away from the blonde, a pained expression on his face, "And Sasuke to a smaller extent…He might beat you up and hurt you a lot…But the first two might - and will - go further…"

Deidara swallowed and gave a slow nod, understanding what he meant by the last part…

The blonde looked to the hand that the other blond still offered, and he shakily took his hand in his own. Naruto blinked in surprise and looked back at the blonde, giving him a wide smile that held a touch of sadness. "Welcome aboard the Lightning Queen. Our Captain is Sakura, while Sasuke and my self are co-captains. Each year the leadership changes; like last year Sasuke was Captain, and next year I will be in charge." He shook Deidara's hand, his eyes turning down to the bread that the blonde held. "You should eat that before we start the tour of the ship, Dattebayo."

The blonde nodded and began to eagerly shove the bread into his mouth, his appetite returning without warning. He ravenously chewed and swallowed, downing the entire thing in a matter of minutes. Just after he finished the last part of it, there was the sound of boots boarding the ship. Both he and Naruto turned to see five people climbing up onto the deck.

The first was Sakura, and she was followed by Sasuke, Orochimaru and Kabuto. Naruto began to say something, but all noise faded from Deidara's ears as he saw a fifth person whom he had never seen before.

A male was following after the other four, an apathetic expression on his face. He had hair that was blood red, and he wore a black pirate hat that bore one short red feather. The man wore black pants, black boots, and a black belt with a decorative golden buckle. He wore a clean white blouse, tight black gloves and a brown satchel. The red head was wearing a long jacket that was crimson in colour, a few shades darker than his hair. The sea breeze wafted through his soft locks, and his cloak billowed in the wind. Deidara stared at him in awe, and the man's head turned.

The blonde's icy blue orbs met with the other male's dark brown eyes.

The red head looked at him for a few calculating moments before he turned away, disinterestedly. Sasuke, Orochimaru and Kabuto set to work on raising the sails and unroping from the docks. Sakura climbed up two cases of stairs to the very top deck where the large wooden steering wheel was. The red head walked up just one staircase and disappeared into the last door of four without a second glance.

Naruto caught the blonde staring, and he gave a frown, "That's Sasori Akasuna…He's the navigator and the onboard doctor…But that guy gives me the creeps…Don't let his looks fool you; he's as cold as he is venomous." The blond notably shuddered and Deidara gave a very slow nod. "Now let me show you around."

He led Deidara to a staircase which led below deck. There were many hammocks hanging between beams, and a few moments later Naruto affirmed the blonde's thoughts.

"This is the sleeping quarters for the crew, including you." A few people were sleeping in some of the hammocks and Naruto gave a frown, "We're casting off, Dattebayo! Wake up and get to work!"

The people were awoken, some giving groans but all of them getting to their feet. They looked to the blonde with interest, immediately guessing that he was a new member of the crew.

Naruto began to introduce people one by one. The first was a male with short brown hair and odd intricate tattoos on his face, "This is Kankuro." The next was a boy a few years younger than Deidara – he had black hair that was cut in a bowl-like shape, "This is Rock Lee." Next was a boy of about the same age as the blonde with short brunette hair and a small white dog on his head. "This is Kiba and Akamaru." The last person was a male with short black hair and pale skin, "And this is Sai. Everyone, this is Deidara."

They all greeted the blonde before disappearing up the stairs in order to help out with departing. Naruto led Deidara through the sleeping quarters to a place where there were several tables, and the blonde could smell something cooking.

"This is where we eat. When I'm the captain I always hire this awesome chef called Teuchi, but Sakura thinks that he is too expensive so she's hired this guy called Yamato…He's alright, except he rarely cooks meat since he's a vegetarian…" Naruto grimaced and shook his head. "And I think that is everyone…Oh! Except for-"

"Who's this?" A man with short blue hair approached them, giving a frown. He wore a dirty tank top and a black jacket that didn't even reach his waist. The boy wore no shoes and had three-quarter pants that were black and puffy at the ends. He wore a black hat, however, and it had a white origami flower attached to it. His eyes were a bright amber colouration, but there was something about him that was highly suspicious.

"Oh! Perfect timing!" Naruto gave a wide grin, "This here is Deidara." The blond turned to the blonde, gesturing to the bluenette, "Meet Konan; he'll show you the jobs that you're expected to do around here…"

"Nice to meet you, Deidara." Konan put his hand out to shake, and after a few moments the blonde shook hands with him. "If you're wondering as to why my voice sounds so high, I used to be with the church when I was younger. I was a choir boy, but to stop our voices from breaking they made us into eunuchs…" He shrugged and pulled their hands apart. "And you know what they say about voices; if they ain't broke, don't break 'em!" Deidara gave a nod and Konan raised his eyebrows, as if amused, "You don't talk much…"

The blonde blinked in surprise before looking away in embarrassment, Konan giving a pitchy chuckle. "Okay then," Naruto smiled at them both, "then I'll leave it to you to show him the ropes."

"You can count on me, Naruto." The blond gave a nod and left them alone.

Deidara blinked at Konan, giving a frown before he finally spoke up, "…You're a girl…?"

Konan looked at him with a violent expression, and the next moment the bluenette's cutlass was at Deidara's throat. The blonde stared at 'him' with wide eyes and a bitter smirk curved Konan's lips, "What gave me away?"

"…" Deidara swallowed, "You're wearing orange nail polish, un…" Konan blinked at him in surprise, before her expression became almost bored.

"…You know, that actually isn't very solid proof…" She pouted and gave a sigh, pulling the blade away from the blonde's neck. "Lots of guys have their nails painted – Sasori's nails are friggen teal but I bet you didn't think that he was a girl…" Konan blinked in surprise, as if reminded of something, before she grinned at the blonde. "I like you, kid…I'll do you the biggest favour of your life."

The next thing the blonde knew he was pinned to one of the tables, and he panicked when he saw that Konan had drawn a small sharp knife as opposed to a cutlass. He tried to fight against her, but escape was impossible.


	2. The Akatsuki

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Two

The Akatsuki

"Just stay still and this will be over in a few seconds." She ripped his scrappy shirt open and moved the knife so that it was positioned underneath his right collar bone. Konan slashed five lines into his flesh so that a five-pointed star was sliced into the skin. Blood welled up around the wound and Deidara hissed at the pain.

Konan stood up at that and the knife disappeared to some hidden location in her clothing. Deidara quickly got to his feet, examining the wound with a paled face – was it a threat?

"You might wanna go see the doctor about that before it gets infected." She smirked at the blonde and motioned for him to follow, "Be polite; you'll want him as an ally…Oh, and if you tell anyone that I'm a girl, I'll slit your throat so fast that…I'll have to come up with a never-heard-before analogy for it…" She shrugged and Deidara followed behind her as she went through the sleeping quarters and back up onto the deck.

They went up another pair of stairs to the middle deck where the four doors were, and Deidara guessed that they belonged to the important crew members like Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. Konan led him to the last door, and Deidara recalled having seen the red head enter the room earlier. The bluenette knocked on the door and after a few moments the man from before opened it.

He was wearing a look of annoyance, and he was predominately focused on the bluenette, "What is it, Konan?" The red head looked at the blonde for a few moments, noticing the blood that was seeping into the fabric of the boy's ripped shirt, "…You really need to stop being so dagger-happy…Come in." Sasori moved out the way, and before Deidara could move the bluenette had already shoved him through the doorway.

"I'll be back soon – I gotta go find Blondie some new threads to wear rather than those rags." She shrugged and turned, leaving them alone.

"…I hate that boy sometimes…" Sasori sneered before closing the door and Deidara looked around the room, blinking slowly. It was quite large, with a window that took up the wall to the left. Half of the room was a study, with bookshelves lining the majority of the front and back walls – the shelves were mostly filled with rolled up scrolls. A desk also sat to the left of the room, covered in both open parchment papers and an unlit lantern.

On the right side of the front wall was a single bed with black satin sheets, and Sasori gestured for him to take a seat on the mattress. Deidara moved over and sheepishly sat down, swallowing nervously.

"I'm Sasori Akasuna," the red head pulled a wooden box from one of the shelves of scrolls and the blonde guessed that it was a first aid kit, "take off your shirt…" He frowned in thought and gave the blonde a calculating expression, "Or at least what's left of it." Deidara gave a slow nod and slipped off the ragged ripped material, revealing his whole chest. The red head eyed the peculiar tattoo that the blonde had on his left side, although he didn't say anything about it. Sasori sat down next to him and opened the box, pulling out a cloth and a bottle of clear liquid. "This is just sea water – the salt in it will help to stop infection."

He poured some of the water onto the rag before placing the bottle down, moving the cloth to the wound that was covered by blood. Deidara hissed at the stinging sensation, shuddering slightly but not complaining as the red head cleaned the wound. Deidara noted that the older male still wore his black gloves, and he was a little curious as to why he wore them, though the blonde didn't question…Doctors…

Sasori pulled the rag away, giving a sudden confused exclamation. "…A star?" Deidara looked at the red head curiously and Sasori gave a frown, "…Tell me your name."

The blonde blinked in surprise and the red head looked up at him, their eyes meeting slowly, "…Deidara…"

Sasori slowly blinked before he returned to cleaning the wound out slowly, "Stay away from Orochimaru and Kabuto, especially at night. Stay close to Konan as well – 'he' is very good with a blade." Sasori stood up and placed the rag down, moving to his study desk. He opened up a draw and pulled out a belt which had a sheath attached to it. "This should offer you some protection." Sasori traipsed back over to Deidara and handed him the belt, "Just don't go picking fights – I'm the ship's doctor, but I have about twenty different methods that will make you die quicker than a cannon ball. Cause me any trouble above what is needed and you'll be dead in a second."

Deidara nodded frantically in agreement, having absolutely no idea why the red head and the bluenette were helping him. The door opened and Konan walked in, closing the door as she went, "I've got some clothes for you, Blondie." The bluenette placed them down on the table and grinned at him, "Get into them quickly – I need to show you what you're supposed to do."

Deidara nodded and began to change into the clothes while Konan and Sasori began to talk to each other in voices hushed so that the blonde couldn't hear. The nineteen year old frowned before he pulled off what remained of the ragged clothes that he had been wearing for several years, pulling on the clothes that Konan had given him.

They consisted of a white tank top and some puffy black three-quarter pants. There weren't any shoes, and Deidara guessed that he was going barefoot. He put the belt on, finding that within the sheaf was a small knife – small but sharp.

"We also gotta paint your nails!" Konan grinned and pulled out a vial of black nail polish, waving it around.

Sasori scoffed and sat down at the desk, going through some of the open scrolls – they all seemed to have maps on. "I'll leave that part to you, Konan." The red head licked his lips slowly and turned around so that his back was facing them, becoming engrossed in the map he was looking at.

-x-

Konan finished painting Deidara's nails, giving him a wide grin while he gave a grimace, but didn't complain. "…You really need to talk more, Blondie." The bluenette pouted before giving a shrug, "Just a suggestion."

Deidara frowned before swallowing deeply, "…Thank you, un…" He looked at his painted nails and his new clothes, giving a smile that was only half sad.

"Whatever, brat," the red head gave him a sharp look, "but if you tell anyone that Konan and I are friends, there will be a 'tragic' mystery where a certain blonde fell over board and was eaten by sharks before anyone could save him." He sneered slightly, "And if you tell anyone that Konan here isn't a boy, I'll make sure you die an even more painful death than that."

Deidara paled and quickly nodded his head, "I…I won't tell…un…" Sasori eyed him carefully before he returned to his maps.

"Show him what he is supposed to do, Konan…Oh, and one last thing." The red head glared hostilely at the blonde for no real reason, "If you have a problem, then don't come running to me unless it is a life or death situation – Konan is the one to see if you have any issues. Understand, Brat?"

Deidara gave a rapid nod, "Yes…Understood, un…" Sasori's expression relaxed and he turned his attention back to his scroll while Konan led the blonde out of the room.

"See ya, Saso!" She grinned at him as they left, "Okay; I still need to show you what we're supposed to do. Basically, we're on clean up duty. We scrub the decks, clean up, make sure the place is tidy, and help Yamato clean the dishes." Deidara looked around at the deck, noticing all of the people who were running around, helping to raise the sails.

He turned to look upwards, noticing that Sakura was standing on the very top level where the large wooden wheel was positioned, as were Orochimaru and Kabuto. Sasuke and Naruto were down on the deck level, giving orders to the crew, "…What do…We do, un?"

"Let's go up to the Crow's Nest and watch the dock fade into the distance!" Before the blonde could say anything, Konan was already dragging him down the steps to the main deck. They ran past people who ignored them and the bluenette finally let go of him as she began to climb up the various ropes in such a way that even a monkey would be jealous. He blinked and began to sloppily climb up the rope ladder as well, lacking the speed and grace of the female.

Eventually they made it up to the Crow's Nest, and Konan helped to pull the blonde inside of the pinnacle. Deidara clutched onto the sides, petrified of the height which they were at, and he moved his gaze out towards the port of Iwagakure.

It would be the last time that he would see his home.

Deidara watched as the ship began to depart and the land slowly but surely started to disappear beyond the horizon of the dark blue ocean. The blonde continued to gaze long after it had been swallowed up by the water, unsure of his feelings towards the land. It was his home, and even though a lot of sadness and pain had originated from the village, the few happy memories seemed to even it out into a feeling of faint home sickness.

"Okay Blondie," Konan nudged him lightly, "let's go down and help Yamato to prepare dinner. Come on!" The bluenette slid down the ropes to the deck below, whereas Deidara had to slowly and unskilfully climb down the ladder while resisting the urge to look below. Soon his bare feet met the deck and he stumbled after Konan, moving to the inside levels of the boat.

They reached the kitchen, finding a man who was currently chopping up some vegetables that seemed fresh, and Deidara guessed that they had just picked up new supplies in Iwagakure. "Yamato!" The man turned to look at them, "This is Deidara; our newest crew member! Deidara, this here is the ship's chef Yamato."

The blonde gave a nod at him, his eye twitching as he resisted the obvious joke of swapping Yamato with Tomato… "It's nice to meet you, Deidara." The man offered his hand to the blonde and the younger male cautiously shook his hand. "You and Konan can prepare the meat…" The man screwed up his face, clearly appalled, "I ain't going anywhere near that filth."

"Yes sir!" Konan dragged Deidara to the meat, taking two knives from the rack, handing one to the blonde. "We have to slice up this meat and then boil it in that pot of salt water." She grinned at the boy, "Don't worry; a few days onboard and you'll get used to the taste of salt…Everything tastes like it here."

Deidara blinked and slowly nodded his head as they set to work on cutting up the meat.

-x-

"Dinner!" Yamato called out in a voice that was far too loud, and the crew came running to the eating area. Konan and Deidara were handing out the plates of food to each one who arrived. The brunette turned to the blonde, pointing at the plate he was currently holding, "Sasori eats in his cabin – go take it to him." Deidara nodded quickly and scampered up the two flights of staircases, not wishing to miss out on having food for him self. He made it to the doctor's cabin and he knocked on the door, trying to seem as patient as possible.

All the cooking had made him hungry, despite the fact that he had eaten an entire loaf of bread that morning. The door didn't open, but a voice called out from inside, "Come in."

Deidara swallowed before he opened the door, walking into the room which he had been inside not too long ago. Sasori was sitting at the table, currently preoccupied with a map that was lain out before him, but he looked up once Deidara placed the plate down.

"Thank you." Sasori nodded at the blonde and returned to his map, "You're free to go now."

Deidara was about to leave, but he paused once he noticed a red outlined area that was on a lot of the maps which were spread across the table. The blonde blinked at it and gave a cautious swallow, "…What's the red…Area on…The maps, un?"

Sasori looked back up at him, raising an eyebrow, "I think that that is the longest thing I've ever heard you say." He placed his current map down and he brushed all of the smaller scrolls to the side to reveal a large map underneath them all.

It seemed to be a map of the world, with several areas shaded in different colours, although there was only one area that was red, which looked to be the same substantial portion that was on the other smaller maps.

"Sometimes pirates have their own territories that they are generally found in. The Lightning Queen does not have any particular territory," he gave a shrug, "but the area in red is the territory of the most infamous band of pirates to have ever roamed the seven seas." Sasori placed a finger on the portion of the map, "This is the territory of the Akatsuki."

Deidara blinked in surprise, uttering the name in awe, "…The Akatsuki?"

"Yes," Sasori gave a slow nod, "There are a total of nine. The leader of them, Lord Pein, said to possess powers of godly proportions. Then there is the Angel of White, the most infamous female pirate in all the lands – she is even more well known than Sakura." While Sasori began to list off the members, threatening and awe-inspiring images flashed in front of the blonde's eyes. "The rest of the crew include the Fire Breather, the Demon Shark of the South, the Red Sand Scorpion, the Deathless Zealot, the Stitch-Work Beast, the Man-Eating Fly-Trap and…Tobi…" The red head pursed his lips in annoyance at something before giving a sigh, "They are a force to be reckoned with…Unfortunately we are sailing a bit too close to their border, and I would prefer to go around their territory…But Sakura is being as mindless as ever…"

He sighed while running a hand through his soft red locks, and Deidara looked at him curiously, "…Have you…ever met…The Akatsuki?"

Sasori was taken aback in surprise, and he instantly gave the blonde a look which seemed oddly offended, "I'm a doctor and a navigator, Brat. If I had ever met the Akatsuki, do you honestly think that I would be here talking to you today?" He scoffed and waved his hand, "Now be off; I am very busy."

"…Okay, un…" Deidara was quiet before he gave Sasori a brave smile, "Thank you."

The red head gave the blonde a calculating look before slowly nodding, "You're welcome…" Deidara was about to leave, but the older male stopped him, "Why do you speak like that?"

"…" Deidara looked down, ashamed of himself and the continuation of his 'shy-boy' act…

"You'll want to get speech lessons, preferably from one of the three captains. Don't even bother with Sakura, she'd never agree…" Sasori gave a thoughtful expression, "Naruto would probably be the easiest to convince, but I think that Sasuke would be a better teacher than Naruto would be. One second, I'll write a note for you…A prescription of sorts." He pulled a blank piece of parchment from one of the various draws of the desk, and Deidara was surprised when he noticed scorch marks on the wood…That was strange…

His gaze moved to Sasori as he began to write on the piece of parchment using a vial of ink and the blood red feather which had been attached to his hat. The blonde did know how to read, but only basically. A lot of the words that the red head wrote didn't make sense to him, and he tried to put them together in his head using his knowledge of letters…

"Here you are," Sasori rolled up the parchment and offered it to the blonde; "give this to Sasuke after dinner. He has the room just next to my one." Deidara gradually nodded, swallowing slowly.

"…Thank you…Danna." The title felt right – he wasn't sure of what it meant, but he often heard people calling others by said name back in Iwagakure, and he had deduced that it was a positive term.

Sasori looked up at him in surprise, before scoffing somewhat, "Whatever, brat; now go away. I'm very busy, and if you don't hurry there will be no dinner left for you to eat." Deidara blinked slowly at him before giving a nod in agreement, deciding that he had bothered Sasori enough. He turned around and exited the room, leaving the red head to his task, again wondering about the origin of the scorch marks.

Sasori watched him leave, his eyes narrowed in suspicion…He had spoken too much, but the blonde had a certain harmlessness about him that made the red head not bother…And it was that same harmlessness that made the boy so overwhelmingly dangerous…Deidara, huh?


	3. Card Tricks

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Three

Card Tricks

Deidara had had some food to return to, though most of it had been eaten by that point in time. It was still nice to have the knowledge that at least he would be fed whilst he was a crew member on the ship. Konan and the blonde had to clean up the plates and cutlery afterwards, washing the stuff in salt water, considering the fact that clean water was far too important to use for hygienic purposes.

It wasn't until afterwards that the blonde had the opportunity to go to seek Sasuke's teaching. He went to the door that the red head had specified and carefully knocked, the requested male soon answering the door. The male seemed a little ruffed up, his hair somewhat messier than usual, and although Deidara couldn't get a good look of the room beyond the door, he swore he saw Naruto's jacket lying on the floor.

"What is it?" Sasuke was giving him a look that was overly irritated, and Deidara guessed that he had arrived at a bad time. The blonde swallowed and nervously handed the male the note which Sasori had given to him. Sasuke frowned and took it from the blonde, reading over the parchment critically, "…Fucking Akasuna, he can't shove such a nuisance onto me. Come on." Sasuke exited the room and closed the door behind him so that the blonde couldn't look inside, "I need to have a talk with that fucking doctor…"

Deidara shrunk slightly in fear as the male made his way over to Sasori's door, and the blonde had no choice but to follow as Sasuke knocked. A few moments later, an annoyed red head opened the door, giving them both a look of irritation. "What is it?"

The blonde was suddenly shoved forward against the red head's chest by the co-captain of the Lightning Queen. "I can't teach this kid, I'm far too busy. If you want him to speak properly, then teach him yourself. I don't personally care if he can only say three words or if he can recite the dictionary; it isn't my problem. If you're so bothered by it, then teach him yourself, Akasuna."

Sasori gave a sneer, but it soon shifted into a smirk, "Oh really? And what are you exactly busy with, may I ask?"

Deidara swore that the temperature just increased, and the red head seemed to be radiating heat. Sasuke sneered lightly and narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "I have to deal with…" He came up short of an argument, but gave a quick scoff, "You're the doctor of this ship; that's what we pay you for."

Sasori continued to give his smirk, not faltering for a second, "Fine then, but do tell Naruto to be quieter; his moans keep me awake at night." Sasuke's face notably paled, and his eyes widened, "If you two continue to deprive me of sleep, I will be forced to make a complaint to the captain…I think she would be particularly interested in the news that you and Naruto are-"

"You can't blackmail me, Akasuna." Sasuke gave him a look of burning hatred, "I won't be teaching this kid a single word, and I'd rather have them kill me than humouring your damn wishes." Sasuke turned and stormed off, but Sasori made one last argument.

"And what about Naruto?" The co-captain stopped dead in his tracks, notably hesitating, "They wouldn't just stop at you."

"…" Sasuke turned, shooting a glare at the red head, "If you don't want to teach him yourself, then have one of the other crew members teach him…Hell, get Naruto to teach the runt."

"Oh of course," Sasori rolled his eyes and spoke with heavy sarcasm, "because we totally need another blonde around here who ends every friggen sentence with 'Dattebayo'. He already ends his sentences with 'un'."

"…" Sasuke narrowed his eyes further, giving a faint sneer, "Fine, I'll teach the runt how to speak properly." His eyes turned to Deidara, "Come to my cabin tomorrow after lunch." The boy's dark pupils returned to Sasori, "If you ever try to blackmail me or Naruto again, you'll disappear for good."

"Very well," Sasori's smirk fell and he gave a slow nod, "that's fair enough." Sasuke turned away from them and walked back into his cabin, closing the door behind him. Sasori gave a low chuckle and shook his head, "So predictable…" He looked down at Deidara, who was giving him a curious expression. "Sasuke won't touch you from now on; he knows that if anything happens to you, then I will be forced to tell Sakura about him and Naruto. Plus, he's agreed to teach you."

"…Thank you, un." Deidara gave him a small smile, realising just how erudite the red head was. He had had the scenario planned the entire time…

"Now that that is sorted out, you should go find Konan. I actually _am_ really busy at the moment." Deidara gave a nod, continuing his small smile up at the red head. He had no idea where the generosity emerged from; did it have something to do with the star that Konan had carved into his chest? "Now lights out will be in a few hours…" He gave the blonde a look which was far too serious, "Do not go on deck once it is past lights out."

Deidara blinked at him, his smirk fading before he gave a quick nod in agreement, "Yes…Danna…"

"Good," Sasori gave a low sigh before straightening up somewhat, "now go." Deidara nodded and ran off below deck to try to find Konan. The red head watched the blonde leave, and he closed the door, running a hand through his hair. "What a nuisance…"

He shook his head and sat back down at the desk; the maps had been cleared off, and instead of parchment there were various vials of bubbling liquid. Sasori continued with his meticulous business of mixing together the ingredients, being precise with the amounts mixed together; he had to be exact…

Sasori wiped his forehead with a handkerchief before moving the material over the vial, squeezing it tightly. Several drops of sweat dripped from the small black cloth which bore edges that were both red and white. Once the droplets hit the liquid, they sizzled severely, causing wisps of smoke to rise up from the concoction.

"Almost done…" He continued to drip drops of sweat into the liquid, watching as it went from blood red to a dark purple colouration. Sasori examined it curiously before he gave a nod, believing that the antidote was complete at last. "Now the big question…" He frowned at it thoughtfully, "Should I use it or not…?"

The red head watched the concoction with interest, noting how it bubbled and sizzled curiously…Hmmm…

-x-

Konan was currently busy playing a game of cards with several other members of the crew.

"I win again!" Konan gave a gleeful laugh and pulled the few coins which sat in the middle of the group towards her. The people groaned and threw down their cards in defeat.

"Dammit Konan!" Kankuro rubbed his face, as if in disbelief, turning to Rock Lee, "I swear this guy cheats; am I right?"

"No need to be a sore loser!" Konan laughed and she slipped the golden coins into her pockets, "Besides; you won the last game!" The bluenette smirked and motioned for Deidara to join them, "Yo Dei! We're playing cards; want in?"

"Watch out, kid," Kiba sniggered, "Konan here is our ship's card magician; he's a tricky one." He laughed and the dog – which now sat next to him as opposed to on his head – barked in agreement.

"Aye, I'd never cheat!" She sniggered, and Deidara noted how all of the people referred to her as if she were a he. The blonde guessed that they didn't know the girl's true gender, and he sat down next to her. He didn't know how to play, so he simply resigned himself to watching and learning.

Konan picked up the deck and enclosed it in her hands, "Ooo, Here it comes…" Rock Lee nudged Deidara to get his attention, "Watch this…"

The blonde blinked and watched as Konan pulled her hands apart, revealing that the deck had disappeared altogether. Deidara's eyes widened in awe and his mouth was left slightly gaping, wondering how she did that…Did she have the same problem that he did…?

"Now the deck is all shuffled," Konan grinned at them all, "first I'll just have to 'Deal' with finding where the cards are…Oh, Deidara!" She gave the blonde a teasing expression, "They're behind your ear!" He blinked as the bluenette moved a hand behind his head, and when she retracted her hand, the deck of cards had been restored in her palm, shuffled and neat.

Deidara stared in shock, and everyone applauded, the blonde quickly joining in the clapping. "How did…You do…That, un?"

"It's easy!" She took the top card off of the deck and placed it in her palm, running her other palm over it. In the brief moments where her hand blocked the view, the card had vanished, "But a magician never reveals their secrets~!" She grinned at him and gave a sudden clap, the card suddenly reappearing and falling to the ground.

"…I can do…With coin…" Deidara looked at Konan with bright eyes, and she gave him a curious look.

"Very well," she grinned and pulled one of her newly won coins out of her pocket, offering it to the blonde, "make this coin disappear and you can keep it."

The boy smiled eagerly and took the offered coin, placing it on his left palm. He brought his right hand forward, hovering above the other before the blonde gave a sudden clap. The people watched, just as eager to see the blonde fail, but were absolutely shocked once he pulled his hands apart and the coin was gone.

The crowd stared in awe – even Konan was staring in shock – at the disappearance of the coin. "Can you make it reappear?" Deidara blinked at the people and looked back at his hands, clapping once again. Once his hands parted, everyone was shocked to find that…It hadn't returned. The blonde frowned in concentration and clapped a few more times, but no matter what the coin didn't reappear.

The people began to laugh at his effort, and Konan patted him on the back while chortling, "It's alright, Dei – you earned that coin anyway, so if you ever get it back you can keep it~" She snickered and began to divide the deck between the players, the blonde giving up on retrieving the coin from whence it had disappeared to.

-x-

It was roughly ten o'clock, and lights had been ordered out about an hour ago. Everyone, including Deidara, was in their hammocks, sound asleep already. The blonde, on the other hand, found that he couldn't sleep. He didn't know what it was; if it was the rocking of the ship, the strangeness of sleeping in the hammock, or just the realisation that he might never set foot on land again.

The room felt so crowded, and he began to get a sick sense of claustrophobia…

Deidara had been warned not to go out on deck after lights out, but he needed to get some fresh air or he thought her would suffocate. The blonde swung out of the hammock, stumbling slightly on the floorboards, but he managed to not wake up any of the other crew members.

He went up the steps, stepping into the bright light of the full moon which shone high above the ocean. The blonde looked around, not seeing anyone else on the deck, and he moved to the side, looking over at the water. Deidara took in deep breaths of fresh air, feeling relief over take him as he lost the sense of claustrophobia.

The blonde closed his eyes, revelling in the soft pleasant wind that blew around the ship, and he gave a soft sigh before looking at his left palm, frowning at it lightly. Deidara gave a yelp as he was suddenly yanked back and shoved to the wooden floor, skidding for a few feet.

He gave a sharp intake of air, and someone grabbed his hair, shoving him down the boards until he was further away from the staircase that led to the sleeping quarters. The blonde gave a soft groan, looking up at the culprits. There were two looming shadows, and he heard them give deep chuckles, "Well well, what do we have here?"

"It's that fresh fly that we picked up from Iwa port earlier~" Deidara recognised the two voices, his eyes widening; Kabuto and Orochimaru.

"I'd be weary if I were you," Deidara blinked at the new voice, looking to the left at the third figure. They were sitting on the railing of the boat, looking out at the ocean, the moonlight revealing who it was; Sasuke. "Sasori seems to have a soft spot for the kid…"

"Oh who cares?" Orochimaru gave a smirk and moved closer to Deidara, "Sasori is a wimp; that's why he is the navigator and we're Sakura's body guards. He rarely even leaves his cabin; we have absolutely nothing to fear from him…" The snake looked over at Sasuke, "Hmmm? Are you just going to sit there the entire time?"

"…" Sasuke kept his eyes set on the moon's reflection on the water, "Sasori has some information that he could use against me; I do not wish to incur his wrath." He slowly shook his head and continued to watch the ocean.

"Very well," Orochimaru turned back to the blonde, giving him a cunning smirk, "but you're going to miss out on all the fun~" Deidara paled significantly and he tried to move away, but the snake just walked forward.

"L-Leave me…Alone, un!" He stared up at the man, petrified, but he just kept coming at him. That was when the blonde remembered; his knife! Deidara drew the dagger quickly, and scrambled to his feet, charging at Orochimaru. The snake easily grabbed the younger male's wrist, twisting the knife from his grip and kneeing him in the gut.

Deidara coughed up some saliva and collapsed to his knees, desperately wrapping his arms around his aching stomach as he tried to regain his breath. "Hmmm," Orochimaru studied the knife curiously, "the kid hasn't been aboard for twenty-four hours and he already has managed to get his hands on a weapon…Looks like he has made some ample allies already."

Kabuto stepped forward, examining the knife in the snake's grasp, "It's of decent quality as well…Konan is quite knife-happy; perhaps he gave it to this kid. I don't think that Sasori would give him the knife; he's smart enough to never offer a weapon to a stranger…" The male pushed his glasses further up his nose, turning his eyes to the blonde. "So then, what are we going to do with him?"

"I've already said," Orochimaru gave a smirk and clenched the handle of the knife, "we're going to have fun with him~" Deidara looked up at the snake, still panting with a line of saliva running down his chin, "Just look at him…He looks so…" The fearsome pirate slowly licked his lips, his smirk cruelly widening, "…Rape-able…"

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	4. Toxic Touch

Pirates

Chapter Four

Toxic Touch

Deidara's eyes widened in both shock and fear, and he suddenly recalled the amount of times people had warned him about Orochimaru and the allusions they had made concerning him…Shit!

The blonde was still winded from being kicked, but he tried to get up nonetheless, trying to find some escape. However, before he even managed to get to his feet he was kicked back down, "Kabuto; I want to go first. Hold him down."

The blonde was shoved onto his back, and the next thing he knew his wrists were pinned above his head by firm hands. "Very well, Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto gave a cruel laugh, licking his lips slowly as Deidara began to valiantly struggle against the firm grasp.

"Let go!" Deidara wrestled against the grip, although this was brought to a halt when Kabuto suddenly flipped him over so that his face and chest were pressed against the wooden planks of the ship, his back now becoming completely defenceless.

Deidara heard a sudden rip and a sharp pain across the length of his back as Orochimaru used the blonde's own knife to cut open the clothes, not being at all careful to avoid Deidara's flesh. He resisted the whimper which waited at the back of his throat; he had been through worse on the streets…Surely…

But would he survive this…?

"He's stopped struggling~" Orochimaru's voice was full of despair, "We'll just have to fix that!" Deidara felt the dagger digging into his skin once again, purposely deeper than the previous slice, wanting to cause the boy a substantial amount of pain. He partly cried out, muffling his voice by latching onto his lip, biting down hard. The pain in his back faded momentarily as Orochimaru drew the knife away.

"What should we write?" Kabuto snickered, clearly amused by the situation, "We need to scar him; it'll make his corpse look so much better after we've finished~" Deidara paled at that, and he managed a faint struggle against his captives, but this faint defiance was stopped once Orochimaru dug the knife back into his skin.

The blonde could feel the twists and turns of the blade, signifying that the snake was writing something into his very flesh. It was sickening really. Deidara could only guess what was being carved into his flesh, unable to decipher the movements of the snake's wrist whilst it was the cause of his current pain.

His skin felt like it was burning.

He heard Kabuto give a snicker, and he knew that whatever the snake was writing was nothing pleasant. It didn't feel pleasant, that was for sure.

As the blade's motions continued, the blonde panicked further once he felt a hand tightly grip his pants and begin to roughly pull them down. He tried kicking his legs, but this just caused Orochimaru to dig the knife deeper into his flesh. Deidara gave a cry of pain, but knew that it was nothing compared to the agony that he would soon be forced into.

He felt his pants get roughly pulled off without the use of a knife, and the blonde felt absolutely vulnerable now that he was naked. "Are you sure you don't want a turn, Sasuke?" Orochimaru looked over to where the raven still sat, "Sasori won't know the difference if you do take part; the whore is going to die anyway."

"I've told you before," Sasuke fought the urge to look at Orochimaru, not wanting to accidentally take a glimpse of the blonde, "I'm not interested in that…Beating someone up is one thing, but rape…" The raven cringed, sure that no one could see his expression. Deidara reminded him too much of Naruto.

"Well fine~" Orochimaru chuckled lightly, turning back to look at the blonde, "Looks like you're only going to have to deal with Kabuto and myself~ It'll still be extremely painful, and we'll still kill you afterwards~" Deidara swallowed fearfully, "Kabuto; turn the kid over. I want to see his face~"

Within a few seconds, the blonde found himself on his back so that his chest was bare and vulnerable. "That's some tattoo…" Kabuto frowned down at the intricate lines which were on the left side of the blonde's chest, "It's quite odd…"

Deidara swallowed slowly, "…Fuck off, un…" All eyes turned on him, even Sasuke gave up his struggle to ignore him. The blonde's back was burning, cut up and pressed against the rough boards of the ship.

"What was that, whore?" Orochimaru leaned over him dangerously, "Did you just tell me to 'fuck off'?" Deidara gave him an intense glare, and confidently nodded his head. If he was going to die anyway, then he didn't even care anymore. He gave a muffled cry as the dagger was brought down against his chest, slashing painfully through his skin and flesh. He could feel blood both welling on his stomach, and he could also feel it pooling slightly underneath him due to the wounds he had incurred to the back. "Well then, what do you have to say now?"

Deidara shuddered slowly, but managed to give the snake a smouldering glare before unhesitatingly spitting on the male's face, "Fuck. Off."

"…" Orochimaru gave a smirk that was far too cruel, "He is far feistier than I anticipated! He seemed so quiet and feckless before~" The snake chuckled sinisterly, "Such a shame that you're going to die~"

There was a clutter as Orochimaru let go of the knife, leaving it to the side, and Sasuke notably looked away, face covered in a disgusted expression that went unseen by Orochimaru and Kabuto, though Deidara noticed it far too clearly. The blonde knew what was coming, and Sasuke had simply confirmed it.

Even Kabuto notably hesitated in a way the Deidara didn't really understand, nor did the blonde try to comprehend. "Seems he was just playing koi the entire time~" The younger male felt Orochimaru bury his sharp dirty nails in his waist, holding Deidara in place forcibly.

"GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!" The blonde bore his teeth at Orochimaru and tried to escape the iron grip. He struggled so damn valiantly, but it was all in vain. Kabuto pressed the blonde's hands down using his knees, freeing up his own hands so that he could grab the knife.

"Don't speak to Lord Orochimaru like that, slut!" Deidara gave a hiss as Kabuto sliced a line along his chest, fresh blood welling up.

"Enough of that, Kabuto~" Orochimaru chuckled deeply, "We don't want to bleed the life out of him…Not before we have our fun~" Deidara felt his legs get forcibly lifted up, and he couldn't help but panic, knowing what was to come.

He preyed that someone would save him; Sasuke, Konan, Naruto…Even Sasori…

But no one answered his prayers.

Deidara screamed as Orochimaru forcibly entered him.

It felt as if he were being ripped apart from the inside out.

"FUCK OFF, FUCK OFF, FUCK OFF!" Tears burned in Deidara's eyes as he felt Orochimaru begin to viciously take him.

"Stop talking to Lord Orochimaru like that!" The blonde saw Kabuto raise the knife through tear blurred eyes. The silver haired male brought the dagger down. Deidara screamed again.

-x-

The blonde was now alone, lying unconscious and slowly dying of blood loss. Orochimaru and Kabuto had left him to bleed to death, while Sasuke had left long before that. At some point he had been rolled over onto his stomach, his sliced up back facing the full midnight moon.

The word 'Whore' had been roughly carved into his very flesh.

One of the four doors opened, and a man stepped out into the night. He was carrying a lantern in one hand, and in his other was a bag full of gold doubloons. The man walked down the steps without a sound, and began to walk across the deck.

He casually stepped over Deidara without even hesitating; his job was more important than the brat was.

Sasori moved to the very front of the ship, placing the lantern down on the wooden railing that was the edge of the vessel, leaving it there long enough to be seen before blowing the bright flame out. The full moon reflected off the waves, lighting the scene.

He watched the shark fin as it momentarily surfaced before sinking back below the waves. Sasori opened up the purse and the giant shark's head surfaced, jaws wide open in anticipation.

The red head began to throw the coins into the eager mouth, the stolen doubloons disappearing down the beast's throat. This mysterious ritual continued for a minute, until the bag was empty of coins. Sasori shoved the empty bag into his pocket before he moved the lantern so that it hung off of his arm. The shark closed its jaws, grinning at the red head for a few moments, and Sasori nodded down at it, "Soon."

The shark wordlessly sunk below the surface of the water, disappearing from sight. Sasori waited a few more seconds before turning around, his eyes immediately landing on the soft moonlit flesh of the blonde. The red head walked over to Deidara, this time actually stopping as opposed to simply dismissing him.

The boy was lying in a pool of blood, but he was still sluggishly breathing. Sasori frowned down at him, knowing that this was the work of Orochimaru and Kabuto. How annoying.

He rolled the blonde over before picking him up bridal style, his white blouse instantly becoming soaked in blood. He carried Deidara up the stairs and into his room, using his foot to shut the door behind him. Sasori moved over to bed, carefully placing the blonde chest-down on the satin blankets. He gently rested the boy's head against the pillow.

The red head straightened up before frowning down at the boy, giving an irritated expression. Damn; he had honestly had hopes for the blonde. The boy had been…Different…

It didn't matter; Sasori would proceed to do the most merciful thing he could do.

He would kill the blonde, thereby ending his suffering.

His own poison would be the quickest.

Sasori removed his glove.

He leaned down.

…

Clatter.

…

Sasori blinked at the interruption.

His gloveless hand was only a few millimetres from the blonde's bare skin.

…Peculiar…Sasori frowned and went to investigate, instinctively pulling his glove back on, protection against his toxic touch.

He looked around the floor until his sharp eyes suddenly caught sight of a soft gleam amongst the floorboards. Sasori frowned and picked up the source of the interruption, finding that it was a gold doubloon, covered in some thick liquid. He studied the strange solution that was surrounding the coin, his eyebrows lifting as he realised that it was simply saliva.

Sasori looked at the blonde, inquisitively; there was no way that the coin had been in the blonde's mouth this entire time. The red head had heard the boy's screams all the way from his cabin.

Then how…

The older male blinked in surprise as something caught his eye, and he instantly grabbed the blonde's hand with his gloved fingers, turning it slightly. His eyes widened in awe as he found the source of the saliva.

The blonde had a mouth…In his hand.

There was a rough slit in the boy's palm, with a soft pink tongue lolling out of it, the glint of teeth more than noticeable.

Sasori frowned and moved to examine Deidara's other hand, finding that it also had a mouth on it…This boy…

Was he…?

The red head straightened up and moved over to his desk, picking up the syringe which contained the concoction that he had made just that morning, bringing it over to the unconscious blonde.

Without even hesitating, he jabbed the needle into Deidara's forearm, the boy not even stirring from his near-death slumber. Sasori finished injecting the liquid into the blonde's body before tossing the needle away hastily. The red head would have to act fast if his new goal was to save the blonde.

He pulled off both of his gloves, carelessly dropping them on the ground as he sat down on the bed. Sasori brought his hands to the blonde's skin, not even hesitating to touch him. His skin was no longer toxic to the blonde now that he had the antidote in his blood.

The red head decided to get rid of the offending word first, since the slices were quite deep and wide. His hand slid slowly over the gashes, smearing the blood across Deidara's skin. A soft green light began to surround his hand, and a faint sizzling noise could be heard.

Where Sasori's hand had moved across the blonde's skin, the wound had instantly healed. The red head continued to heal the scarification on the blonde's back with his left hand, while he used his right to heal the scars on the boy's arms. His skin was smeared with blood, but at least the red head was stopping any further bleeding.

After a few minutes he had finished healing his back, and he turned the blonde over, his eyes widening subtly once he caught sight of the blonde's most serious wound. He hadn't noticed it before, due to the blonde's hair being in the way, but now it was hard to miss. Half of the blonde's face was covered in blood…

My, the blonde must have been very uncooperative if Orochimaru and Kabuto had resorted to gouging the boy's left eye out.

Sasori frowned and moved both of his hands to cup the blonde's wound, focusing his energy on healing it to the best of his abilities. He couldn't regenerate a new eye for him, but he could at least stop the bleeding and the majority of the pain.

The red head shuddered as he began to grow tired; he hadn't used this much energy in a long time and it was draining him too quickly…

No; he had to finish healing the blonde…

Sasori moved his hands away from the blonde's face, having healed the damage as much as possible, although Deidara would have to wear an eye patch from now on.

The red head moved his hands to the blonde's chest, healing the rest of the scars as fast as possible, his eyes remaining focused on the weird tattoo that Deidara's possessed…It gave him a sense of Déjà vu…

He finished healing his chest, knowing that there was simply one more place that required healing. He slipped one hand downwards, sliding two fingers into the blonde's ripped-up entrance, beginning to heal the blonde's internal damage while his other hand moved to examine the markings on the blonde's chest.

He frowned once he felt raised portions of the blonde's skin, and he realised that these were stitches…Peculiar. The red head felt his consciousness waver as he began to run low on his energy resources. Dammit; he was out of practise after two years on this damn ship.

Sasori removed his fingers, having healed the blonde to the best of his abilities, and he wiped his bloodied fingers on Deidara's leg before he tried to get up. The red head was annoyed to find that his body felt too heavy for him to get to his feet. Dammit.

His eyelids grew heavy and he rested his head on Deidara's bloody chest, losing consciousness a few moments later.

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	5. The Letter

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Five

A Letter

Deidara awoke to the stream of sunlight upon his face, and the sharp scent of blood within his nostrils. He slowly opened his eye, wondering where he was exactly…

Wait a minute…

Memories of the previous night came flooding back, and he began to panic for a few seconds before this feeling suddenly disappeared…Wait…

His body was still aching faintly, but after the horror that he had experienced the night before…The pain should have been more…No; he should have been dead.

The blonde then became aware of a weight on his chest. He blinked his one remaining eye and looked down, his eye widening at the sight. Sasori was currently sleeping with his head resting on the blonde's chest, dried blood staining the half of his face that was pressed against Deidara's skin.

The blonde couldn't help but blush, especially once he recalled the fact that he was naked…What was Sasori doing sleeping on top of him? Had he also raped the blonde?

…That was when it registered in his head that Sasori was the on-board doctor…Oh, he must have _saved _the blonde!

The red head had dark shadows under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in days. Deidara shuddered slowly and cautiously moved his hand up to Sasori's face, sluggishly poking his cheek. The red head mumbled something incomprehensible, but he didn't wake up; he didn't even wake when the door abruptly burst open.

"HEY SASO-" The familiar voice suddenly fell silent, and the girl gave a low exclamation before closing the door behind her slowly. "Blondie…Oh good…You're alive and…" Deidara noticed that a trail of blood was running from her nose, and she scratched the back of her head, "…Naked…" She coughed slowly and wiped her nose before walking forward, blinking at the red head, "Sasori?"

The male was still sleeping, lightly breathing against the blonde's chest, and Deidara frowned at him, "Is Danna-…" The blonde's throat was sore, and his voice was croaky, "…Okay, un?"

Konan frowned and ran her hand gently through the sleeping red head's hair, "Yeah, he'll be fine…He must have used up a lot of energy…" Deidara gave her a questioning look and she jumped slightly, giving a sheepish laugh, "Ah, you know…He must have…been up really late with fixing you up…Sasori is probably exhausted!" She gave a laugh and turned on her heels, "You probably won't be able to wake him up – I'll go and get you some new clothes…" She frowned at him, "Your eye…" The blonde jumped slightly, only realising then that he could only see out of his right eye. He had just thought that it was his bang blocking the way, but now he suddenly remembered what had happened – how Kabuto had ended up gouging out his eye… "I'll get you a patch," Konan grinned at him, "you'll look like a real badass pirate!"

She exited the room, closing the door behind her. Konan stood there for a few moments, giving a subtle frown. Sasori must have given the blonde the antidote…The bluenette looked over at the bloodstained deck – the reason she had gone running to Sasori…

The older male had actually pitied the blonde; in fact, he had gone so far as to use his healing powers to save him. Many times before, the same incident had occurred…However, never before had Sasori saved the victim of Orochimaru and Kabuto…

She frowned thoughtfully, "I wonder…Does Sasori remember…?" Konan shrugged slowly before she went off to find the blonde some new threads.

Deidara looked thoughtfully at the red head, moving a hand to gently caress the man's soft cheek. Sasori didn't show any signs of waking up, and Deidara smiled gently at him, "Thank you, Danna…"

-x-

Konan opened the door, blinking once she realised that the blonde had fallen asleep again. She sighed and shut the door behind her carefully, placing the clothes down on the red head's desk. It had been cleared of maps, although a few vials had been left out. The red head's lantern also sat there, although it was unlit, with the sunlight being enough to fill the room at the moment.

The bluenette looked over at Sasori, before she gave a sigh; he could be so reckless sometimes. Konan waved her hand and a piece of paper appeared in her palm. The bluenette walked forward to him, slapping the white square onto his forehead.

The paper began to glow, and the dark shadows under Sasori's eyes suddenly began to noticeably lighten. After a few moments, the red head gave a soft mumble, and his muddy brown eyes slowly opened. "Well aren't we the careless one?" Konan smirked and clicked her fingers, the piece of paper peeling off of the red head's forehead, floating back up to the bluenette.

It attached to the back of her hand, slowly reverting into a skin colour before it was completely absorbed. Sasori looked up at her, still quite dazed, before he slowly sat up. "Huh?" He turned his head to gaze at the sleeping blonde slowly, before turning back to Konan, "Oh…I guess I _was_ a _bit_ careless…" He shrugged and got to his feet, looking down at his clothes which were covered in blood.

"Now then," she smirked and leaned against the wall, "why did you decide to save him, and then go so far as to heal all of his wounds just to be sure he would survive…? All this while putting your self in danger…" Konan gave him a critical look, "You do realise how long you could have been asleep for…Right?" Her voice was almost a threat.

"You don't have to remind me, Konan." Sasori began to unbutton his bloodied blouse, turning his back to the bluenette, "I am perfectly aware of my own limits. I would have been asleep for no more than a few more hours."

Konan gave a loud scoff, "Please, you would have been asleep for at least a week if it hadn't been for my help; you're lucky that my power grows and stores over time, unlike yours which diminishes without practice."

Sasori turned to her, his bloody shirt tossed to the ground as he gave her a smirk. On his chest was a weird marking; it was his own name, but it was written in an unknown language. The tattoo was glowing faintly; although behind that the markings were quite faint, revealing his loss of strength. It would be a few days until it was back to its usual boldness. Sasori gave a mock bow at the woman, continuing to smirk at her, "I thank you, oh great Angel of White."

Konan's grin fell into a stoic expression, and she straightened up before giving her own bow, "You are more than welcome, Sir Red Sand Scorpion." They watched each other for a few seconds longer before they both straightened up, the bluenette giving a smirk. "Is it wise to use such names? Someone might be listening."

"The Brat is asleep." Sasori's smirk fell and he gave a shrug, turning to his wardrobe as he pulled out a fresh clean blouse, although he put it aside to grab his medical kit, "And it is still early; you best leave and clean up that bloody mess that the blonde must have left on the deck. We don't want people to get suspicious about the Brat's lack of injury."

Konan gave a nod and turned, moving to the door, although she stopped before opening it. A smirk continued to curve her lips, "You two are kind of cute together…I support this~" She giggled sinisterly before she quickly left before Sasori could make a word of argument.

He scowled once she had left the room, shaking his head slowly before he pulled a rag out of the medical kit, wetting it with salt water. There was no need to waste his fresh water ration on cleaning himself. Sasori began to use the rag to wash the blood stains off of him self, cleaning it from his face and parts where it had seeped through his blouse.

After a few minutes he was clean, although he still smelt of blood, but there wasn't much he could do about that. He shrugged and moved over to the blonde who was sleeping away, and the red head began to clean his chest of the dried blood. As soon as the rag made contact the blonde woke up, blinking his one remaining eye several times.

"Good morning, Brat." Sasori didn't look at the blonde as he continued to clean his torso of the blood, "I see that you didn't listen to my warning about going out after dark." He rolled his eyes and Deidara slowly blinked his one eye, frowning slowly.

"I'm…Sorry…" The blonde looked away for a few moments, "I felt…Suffocated down there…" Sasori finally gazed at the boy, eyeing him carefully, and Deidara turned back to him, making eye contact accidentally, although he didn't break it. "I can…Clean myself…"

"You won't be able to reach your back; it was just as bloody as your front when I last checked." Deidara blushed slightly, and he looked away from the red head once again.

"What…What did they…Carve into…My back, un?" Sasori didn't falter in cleaning the blood off of the blonde, having almost finished with his chest.

"Don't worry; I've already taken care of your wounds. You won't have any scars." Deidara blinked in surprise and looked back at the red head, "And if you really want to know, they didn't carve anything legible on your back. They simply carved childish scribbles." The blonde didn't need to know otherwise.

"No…Scars?" He stared at the red head, his single eye wide with disbelief. Deidara looked down at his chest, realising for the first time that he had no more wounds; he really didn't even have any scars!

"None." Sasori finished cleaning the blonde's chest, and he looked up at the blonde, "Well…Almost…" The red head brought the rag up to the blonde's bloodied cheek, "It's simply impossible to replace your eye…But you can cover that with an eye-patch." Deidara gave a slow nod, "Now this will sting a little around the eye-area." Sasori scooted closer to the blonde so that he had better access, leaning close to the younger male.

Deidara stared into the pirate's elm coloured eyes, and he barely felt the stinging sensation that coursed through his body. There was something that drew the blonde to the man…

*Flashback*

_The four year old boy looked cautiously at the red haired male – he himself couldn't be older than eleven years old. Deidara watched as the boy kneeled down and began to rummage through his bag. The blonde's eyes widened in awe once the red head pulled out a large dark apple, and he offered Deidara the fruit with hands that were covered in bandages._

*End of Flashback*

…Sasori was far handsomer than Deidara had thought he would be…

"Now why don't you tell me about that little marking on your chest?" Deidara blinked in surprise, "And I am also curious about those extra mouths of yours." An honest blush formed on the blonde's face, and Sasori's hand stilled against his cheek. "Don't worry," he made eye-contact with Deidara, cooing softly, "I am simply interested."

"…I don't know…" The blonde tried to look away, but he was trapped within the red head's stare, "I've had…since before I…can remember, un…" He slowly blinked and at last managed to look away from the redhead, giving a pained cringe, "I know…I'm a freak."

"You are." Sasori stated it bluntly and with a shrug as he pulled the rag away from Deidara's face. The blonde flinched at the statement. "Sit up; I need to clean your back." Deidara gave a slow nod and did as instructed, the red head moving behind him, beginning to wash the dried blood away. "As I was saying; you are a freak. I won't lie…But that is one of the reasons I decided to save you last night…"

He didn't add that it was the only reason.

"I wouldn't waste my time or my energy on someone if I thought that they were useless." He shrugged and continued to wash the blonde's back, pouring some more saltwater onto the bloody rag. "So think of it in this way; being a freak saved your life."

"…" Deidara gave a small smile, "Thank you…Danna, un."

That probably meant that the red head had suspicions - but he was still doubtful…

"I'm just one hell of a doctor." Sasori finished cleaning the blonde's back a few minutes later, giving a sigh. "While your body is all healed up, I'll have to keep a careful watch on your mental state for a while; just to make sure you don't have any psychological problems…But you seem to be quite remarkably sound…" The red head got to his feet, placing the bloodied rag into his medical kit to clean later. He picked up the bundle of clothes that Konan had brought earlier before handing them over to the blonde. "Here you are; some new threads…"

Deidara blinked down at them, taking the clothing from the red head slowly, "Thank you…" The blonde got to his feet and began to get dressed; the clothes were similar to his previous pair, although they came with an additional black long-sleeved jacket, a plain black pirate hat and an eye-patch.

"Orochimaru took your dagger?" Sasori had been packing away his medical equipment, letting the blonde dress without being stared at.

"Yes, un." Deidara pulled the jacket on, leaving it unbuttoned as he turned towards the eye-patch, picking it up thoughtfully. He placed it over his left eye, tying the cord tightly behind his head before he moved his hair bang to cover it up.

"Unfortunately I don't have a spare…" Sasori moved to sit down in his chair, beginning to rummage around in the draws of the desk, "So you'll just have to stay out of trouble…And don't go out on the deck at night again; next time I won't save you." The red head didn't even look up at the blonde as he pulled out a piece of plain parchment paper and a small inkwell. He removed the feather from his hat, using the red accessory as a quill.

"Of course…" Deidara gave a pained frown before he pulled his new pirate hat on, and Sasori slowly looked up at him, "I'm sorry, un…"

"…" The red head eyed the blonde for several seconds before turning back to the paper, "Don't forget to go to Sasuke after lunch; the recent events haven't changed the situation concerning your speech problems." Deidara nodded and Sasori dipped the quill within the inkwell, "Good then; you may leave…In fact, go help Konan clean up that mess that you left on the deck. Hopefully the blood hasn't attracted too many damn seagulls – they're always so distracting…"

"Thank you…Danna, un." Deidara smiled gratefully at the red head, quickly retreating out of the cabin, shutting the door behind him.

Sasori's eyes slid upwards to watch him leave, before he returned his attention to the parchment, "…" The red head brought the inked quill to the blank page, initiating his letter to a certain someone.

_Dear Leader…I know that it is not wise to contact you, and I have been quite compliant these past two years, but my curiosity is getting the better of me. There is a matter which I wish to discuss with you, concerning a new member of the Lightning Queen's crew; a blonde boy who we picked up at Port Iwa. His name is Deidara, and I have a question for you…_

_Is this boy the one?_

(Review Please?)


	6. Speech Lessons

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Six

Speech Lessons

Deidara and Konan spent a good two hours cleaning up the various blood stains on the deck, but at least they managed to get the majority of the redness out of the wood. A few members of the crew had woken up, and they were only slightly confused as to why the blonde and bluenette were swabbing the deck. They hadn't heard Deidara's commotion last night, so they had no idea of what the blonde had been through; they didn't even notice his new eye-patch due to his hair bang blocking the sight.

Deidara went below deck in order to wake up the rest of the crew, not being present when Orochimaru and Kabuto came out of their own sleeping quarters on the opposite side of the ship. They saw Konan cleaning up the blood alone, and they both walked over to her with colossal smug expressions plastered on their faces.

"Well Konan," Orochimaru gave a slow chuckle, "did you have fun disposing of your friend's dead body?" The snake leaned in close to the bluenette, eyeing her fiercely. "What about all the art that we carved on the whore's body? Did it stir emotions of awe inside of you?" He continued to smirk fiercely at the girl, and she simply blinked up at him.

"Not really, given the fact that there was no body to dispose of." She gave a shrug and pointed behind them, "But you can question him if you want to."

They both blinked in surprise, the two pirates turning around with eyes landing on the blonde. Deidara was staring back at them, face paled and his body was slowly shaking. "You're alive?" Kabuto was staring at him in awe, mouth hanging open in a gape.

"Impossible," Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at him harshly, "you shouldn't even be breathing, let alone moving…" He paced forward, taking a tight hold of the blonde's clothes, "What is this witchcraft?!" Deidara glowered up at the man, and suddenly kicked him in an area which was super effective.

…It was a critical hit…

Orochimaru spat up some saliva, releasing the blonde to clutch meekly at his offended area, Kabuto taking a step forward, "HOW DARE YOU-".

"Quiet!" The group turned their heads back to look towards the voice, looking up at the central level of the deck. Sasuke stood, giving them a superior look, a sharp contrast to what he had been last night, "I won't have such petty fighting aboard the Lightning Queen…Got that?"

They stared at Sasuke for a few moments before all parties nodded in forced agreement. The man gave a hum and moved to the upper level, talking to Sakura – the girl currently steering the ship - about something unknown and unrelated.

"…" Orochimaru turned to Deidara, giving him a calculating look as he slowly straightened up, towering above the blonde, "…Next time we won't be so merciful." There was a short silence before the snake turned and walked off, a slight limp in his walk. Kabuto scowled at the blonde for a few moments before he followed loyally after his lord, leaving Deidara and Konan alone to finish their cleaning.

"…I hate-" The blonde swallowed slowly, almost forgetting to use the speech difficulty, "them…They are…Bastards, un…"

-x-

It was after lunch; time for the blonde's speech lesson. Deidara stood outside the door next to Sasori's, the cabin belonging to none other than Sasuke Uchiha. The blonde didn't hesitate as he knocked on the door, and after a few moments the door opened.

Sasuke blinked at the blonde slowly, having found out earlier that the blonde had survived, "…Come in." He stepped aside, and Deidara entered the cabin a few moments later.

It was different to Sasori's own living quarters; there was a double bed against the left wall, a wardrobe against the right, a simple desk with a simple chair also to the right of the room, and a coat hanger which currently had on a long midnight blue jacket with black flames painted near the bottom of the material.

Sasuke himself was wearing clothes which were far better than the rags he had worn the previous day. He wore black three-quarter pants, black boots, a white blouse that was mostly buttoned up, and a purple scarf was tied around his waist. He still wore the hat that was similar between all four of the upper positioned crew-members, his own adorned with two short feathers, one pink and the other orange.

"It is…A nice…Cabin, un…" Deidara looked around and the male shut the door behind them.

"You can cut the crap." Sasuke turned and gave the blonde a narrow eyed glare, "We both know that you can talk properly." The man moved over to the wardrobe, opening it up and pulling out a half-empty bottle of port wine. He picked up two glasses, both being quite dirty but good enough to use.

Sasuke placed the glasses down on the desk, opening up the fine bottle of wine, pouring a portion into each of the glasses. Deidara watched him as he poured the drinks and the male plugged up the bottle once more, placing it down on the table.

"So then," Sasuke picked up the glasses and took a sip, offering the blonde a glass of the port wine, "why don't you start by telling me just who the hell you are."

Deidara frowned down at the wine, leaning against the table as he took a sip of it, finding the drink to be quite bitter but nice at the same time. "I'm no one; just a common street rat of Iwa." He gave a shrug, licking the roof of his mouth slowly, "I don't have any ulterior motives, if that is what you're wondering. I ended up here by simple chance, not choice…"

"Well then, I'll ask you the second question which has been pestering me…" Sasuke sipped his wine slowly, "What is with the shy-boy act?"

"It wasn't an act initially, un." Deidara scratched the back of his head, taking another sample of the wine, "I was terrified when I was first brought aboard the ship…But the act just stuck around, un, and I didn't want people to think that I've just been acting the entire time." He shrugged and swished the wine slowly in the improper glass, "…"

"Fine," Sasuke closed his eyes and downed the last of his glass, moving to pack the bottle back into the wardrobe. "Well then, I really have nothing to teach you since you seem to be able to talk just fine." He moved over to seat, sitting down slowly, "Why don't you tell me the answer to the question that everyone has been dying to know…Tell me how you are currently alive."

Deidara eyed him slowly with his one wide eye, swallowing both saliva and wine, "…Your guess is as good as mine, un…This morning…I just…" He gave a frown and looked away from Sasuke, "This morning, I just woke up…And that is all that I know."

The older male was silent for a few moments before giving a slow nod, "…I'll give you one more 'Speech Lesson' tomorrow. In the meantime, alter your little 'shy-boy' act so that it seems you have improved." Deidara finished drinking the wine and placed the glass on the table, next to Sasuke's, "After tomorrows 'Lesson', you can stop it altogether." The man gave a shrug, "I'm a good teacher."

Deidara gave a slow nod and straightened up, "Is that all, un?"

"What ever you have heard from Sasori about Naruto and myself…" He eyed the blonde carefully, "You would be best to forget. I wouldn't have contributed my 'efforts' to last night even if Akasuna hadn't blackmailed me. Just be aware that blackmail and other such threats have no affect on me, and will only lead to your own demise…Got that?"

"Yes, sir." Deidara nodded, wiping his mouth slowly of any wine, giving a soft sigh. "Thank you, un…"

"Whatever," Sasuke shrugged his shoulders and tugged at the sleeve of his blouse for no reason in particular, "you can leave now. Don't forget what I told you." Deidara gave another nod and he traipsed back to the doorway, "Oh, and one more thing…" The blonde looked back over to him, "Keep an eye on both Sasori and Konan for me…I've never trusted those two…" Deidara blinked at him in surprise, but gave a slow nod anyway before disappearing out of the doorway, leaving Sasuke alone. The door shut behind the blonde, and the man shook his head slowly, "I will get information about you, Akasuna…And as soon as I do," he gave a cruel smirk, "you're going to go for a little _swim_~…"

-x-

The blonde was sitting in the Crow's Nest, looking up at the moonless sky. It was after lights out, and he was too terrified to even try going down to the sleeping quarters. Orochimaru, Kabuto and Sasuke were hanging out on the deck below, but they were all unaware of the blonde high above them…Well, most were unaware of the boy – Sasuke had noticed him go up earlier, and knew that the blonde had yet to come down.

Deidara was thankful for his jacket, but his feet were bare and the air was icy. He was curled up in a ball, trying to conserve his body heat. The boy couldn't help but listen to the conversations that were happening below, mostly because the talks were generally concerning him.

"So how do you think the kid is still alive?" Kabuto was sitting on the deck, leaning against an empty barrel. "I know that Sasori saved him, but that bastard is the lousiest doctor I've ever encountered; he's never managed to save anyone else before."

"I don't trust Akasuna," Sasuke was sitting on the ship's wooden railing, looking between the two favourable crew members, "I never have. It's obvious that he is holding back on us." He looked away from them, "Remember when we got attacked by that ship 'The Mermaid Fin'? After the initial onslaught - after we had defeated them, that is - I went to check up on Akasuna to make sure he was still alive. I went into his cabin, the door having been smashed down by the opposing force…"

"Well?" Orochimaru smirked at him, shuffling his legs slightly – he was leaning against the central pillar of the deck, "How beat up was the bastard?"

"…" Sasuke glared at the ocean, pursing his lips in irritation, "He wasn't…I went in the room, and he was just standing there, wearing that same old expression…And on the ground, surrounding him, were five dead bodies of enemy pirates…"

Orochimaru and Kabuto both started at the information, staring at Sasuke curiously, "Huh?" Kabuto's glasses slid slightly, and he quickly repositioned them, "Well then…"

"The wounds were also very minimal on the victims – one of them only had a very slight scratch on his cheek…" He shrugged slowly, "Akasuna also had his sword at his side, but it had barely any blood on it…"

"Perhaps Konan had something to do with it," Orochimaru gave a disarming shrug; "the two of them have always seemed suspiciously close to me."

Kabuto quickly nodded in agreement at the comment, but even so Sasuke still couldn't help but dismiss this, "Although Konan had been busy enough fighting on the deck; he hadn't been anywhere near Akasuna's cabin…" He shook his head, "I don't trust either of them."

"That blonde brat must be getting quite close to both of them," Kabuto shook his head irefully, "we should have just killed him last night. We don't need another one of them _infesting_ the ship."

"But don't you see?" Sasuke eyed them slowly and warily, "We can use the kid to get to Akasuna…We can find out his weakness, and then we can finally get rid of him…" He gave a smirk, "For good."

"…Interesting…" Orochimaru gave a slow hum of thought, "…"

Sasuke sighed and stood up off of the railing, stretching his arms slowly, "It's late now; we should go before we catch hypothermia." Of course, he was simply doing this to aid the blonde above them.

"I guess you're right." Orochimaru gave a shrug and straightened up, while Kabuto also got to his feet. "Let's go to bed."

Deidara listened to them walking away, Orochimaru and Kabuto going beneath deck on the left side of the boat, while Sasuke walked up the stairs, but he paused before entering his cabin, "The coast is clear…" There was a silence, before he disappeared inside of his room, and Deidara listened as the door closed.

"…" The blonde tried to sit up, but his muscles wouldn't listen to him. He gave a soft shudder, only managing to curl himself into a tighter ball before he lost consciousness altogether, falling asleep in the Crow's Nest.

-x-

The blonde woke up around midnight to the sound of quiet footsteps across the deck, and he slowly managed to sit up. He was shuddering lightly from the temperature, but he didn't let it stop him from curiously gazing over the side of the rail.

A man was walking with a lantern, and Deidara's head didn't register who it was for a few moments until he noticed the man's red hair. The blonde watched Sasori as he walked up to the front of the ship, and he stood there, looking out at the ocean. Deidara slowly blinked as he watched the red head blow out the lantern, and the blonde couldn't work out what he was doing. It looked like the red head was throwing something off the side of the ship, but the darkness of the new moon made it difficult to see…

Deidara slowly got to his feet, but he couldn't help but stumble after being curled up in an uncomfortable position for so long. Sasori heard the sound of feet, emptying the last of the coins into the water before turning around. "Who's there?"

The red head narrowed his eyes, looking around for the source of the sound. Deidara slowly moved to the edge of the Crow's Nest, climbing over the edge of the railing. He began to climb down the various ropes, although once he was halfway down the boy missed his footing, accidentally letting go of the line.

Deidara dropped to the deck with a hard thud, giving a loud groan of pain. Sasori blinked and walked calmly over to the blonde, crossing his arms, "What did I tell you about going out at night?"

Deidara shuddered slowly, before he shakily sat up, rubbing his aching face slowly, "Sorry, Danna…I was out before but I went…Up the Crow's Nest to get away…From Orochimaru and Kabuto and Sasuke, un…" He looked up at the red head, wondering faintly as to what he had been doing on the deck alone. "I stayed up there so…They wouldn't know I was there…But when they left…I fell asleep…"

"You can't sleep out here, Brat." Sasori gave him an irritated glare, "You'll get sick if you sleep out here in this weather."

"Then why are you…Out here, Danna?" Deidara frowned up at him, "Aren't you worried about Orochimaru…And Kabuto as well, un?" The blonde blinked in surprise as he suddenly recalled the story that Sasuke had discussed earlier, and he instantly felt stupid.

"…" Sasori offered his hand to the blonde, and Deidara slowly leaned up to take it, "No, I'm not worried about them coming after me." He helped the boy to his feet, steadying him slowly, "But you should be…" The red head narrowed his eyes at the blonde, "One would think that you would be more psychologically traumatised from the recent events…"

Deidara paled before he looked down at the ground, an uncomfortable expression on his face, "I'm just trying to…Forget, un…"

Sasori watched him slowly before he gave a sigh, "Come on." He began to walk away, and Deidara hesitated before he obediently followed after the red head. The older male led him to his cabin, letting the blonde inside before he shut the door behind him, "Since you seem to have a problem with sleeping below deck, then I'll let you spend the night in my cabin…" He shot the boy a mild glare, "Just know a few things; it is only for tonight, you are not allowed to tell anyone, and you are not to annoy me. Understood?"

Deidara gave a quick nod, "Yes Danna…Thank you." Sasori's expression relaxed and he returned the nod, giving a soft sigh.

"Good…" He pulled off his blouse, revealing his soft skin from below, and the weird marking on his chest – which still had a low enough opacity that the blonde didn't notice it in the dark room. Sasori took off his boots and sat down on the bed, eyeing the blonde slowly, "…Yeah; you're sleeping on the floor."

_Review Please?_


	7. Caught Out

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Seven

Caught Out

Konan woke up suddenly, quickly sitting up in her hammock. She could feel the familiar pulse, and she swiftly jumped down onto the floor below, stopping only to notice that Deidara wasn't in his own hammock…Gawd, had the boy been raped again? Sasori wouldn't save the boy twice…

The bluenette once again felt the pulse, and she was reminded of her duty. She fleet-footedly bolted up the stairs, quiet enough to leave the other crew members in their sleep, and she came out onto the deck.

The air was still crisp with dawn, and she quickly scampered up the ropes of the ship, feet and hands barely even touching the various cords as she climbed into the Crow's Nest. A black raven sat waiting for her, eyes a dark sheen of crimson red. She eyed the crow for a few moments, before she gave a small smirk, "You're getting slow, Itachi; I could have made the distance in half the time."

The bird watched her slowly before it spread its wings, a dark shadow spreading from its feathers. The darkness engulfed the raven and spread further, until it was human sized. The dark abruptly vanished, and now a man in his early twenties stood within the Crow's Nest, the raven having vanished. The man had long black hair, with even darker eyes. He wore fine pirate attire, with a long black jacket which had red clouds on it, and underneath his eyes were weird lines.

He gave Konan a blank look, emitting a soft sigh – as he did so, a wisp of flame blew from his mouth. "I was away from the main ship when I received word from Leader; so you can understand why I took so long." The Fire Breather pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket, offering it to the bluenette.

She took the parchment, giving a polite bow, "Thank you, Itachi. I'm sure Sasori will be satisfied with such a speedy reply."

"Do you have any idea what this note is about?" The raven eyed her curiously, tilting his head, "Leader was quite serious about it…"

"Your guess is as good as mine," she gave a shrug, "but I'm guessing that it has something to do with this new boy we picked up in IwagakurePort. Sasori has taken quite a shine to the kid…Both Red Sand Scorpion and I believe that we might have the future Akatsuki member in our ranks."

Itachi gave her a look of surprise, "The future Akatsuki member? Not just anyone can become an Akatsuki – both of you should know this perfectly well…We're all…" The male blew out another wisp of fire, "…Unique."

"I know," Konan gave a shrug, "perhaps that is what the letter is concerning. Sasori wouldn't let himself get close to someone without a reason…"

"Very well," Itachi ran a hand through his hair, "I take it that Sasori is alright? Kisame told me that he came into some trouble last night."

"Well I haven't seen him yet…" Konan gave an apprehensive frown, "But I'm sure if there was trouble, Sasori would be able to handle it."

Itachi nodded slowly, "Very well…" An almost guilty look covered his face, "How is my brother?"

Konan watched him slowly before giving a shrug, "He is fine. Sasuke still hates  
Red Sand's guts, but other than that…Oh! He has managed to develop a relationship with Naruto – the blond co-captain."

The male eyed her slowly before giving a nod, "It is nice to know that he has found love at last…I must be off now, before anyone sees me. It was good to see you again. Leader is missing you greatly."

Konan nodded while giving a smile, "I miss him too. I have no idea when we will be back, but I hope that it is soon." She shrugged and scratched the back of her head, "Well then, you best be off. Thank you again for the letter, Fire Breather."

Itachi gave one last fiery sigh before the darkness began to consume him again, "Goodbye Angel of White; safe travels." The inky substance consumed the male completely, shrinking him down until he was once again a midnight black raven. It took flight a few seconds later, flying off in an unknown direction. Konan watched him leave before giving a sigh, climbing onto the ledge of the Crow's Nest. She jumped off of it, landing gracefully – and far too lightly - on the deck below.

"I hope Sasori is okay – not to mention the fact that I can't find Deidara…" She frowned before climbing up the steps to the four doorways, moving to the very last cabin. Konan didn't even bother to knock, barging in with a good kick to the door, "YO SASO! THAT LETTER-" She quickly cut herself off at the sight before her, blinking her eyes quickly.

Sasori was sound asleep in his bed, his back facing the doorway. But the thing that caught Konan's attention was the sight of Deidara, sleeping on the floor with a spare blanket covering the majority of his body.

The bluenette watched as they both woke up at her outburst, Sasori sitting up at a normal pace while Deidara just remained lying down, giving a soft yawn. The red head blinked at Konan, before he noticed the rolled up note in her hand. He nodded at her and got to his feet, nudging the blonde with his foot, "Get up, Brat. You and Konan have chores to do. Don't forget your speech lesson after lunch either…" He walked over to the bluenette and took the letter from her, "Thank you, Konan."

The bluenette nodded and waited for the blonde to get up, and Deidara gave the red head a small smile, "Thank you…Danna, un."

Sasori nodded, "Now be off." Konan left the cabin, and the blonde quickly followed after her, leaving the red head alone. He shut the door and looked to the note that was in his hand, "Leader was quite quick to reply…" Sasori frowned and sat down at his desk, unrolling the letter. He began to read the note, his eyes widening in shock.

-x-

Konan and Deidara both sat within the Crow's Nest, sharing a loaf of bread which the bluenette had swiped from the kitchen. It wasn't stale since it had been bought in Iwa, although it wasn't entirely fresh.

All the other crew members were busy on deck, but the two workers didn't have much to do; the best they could think to do was stay out of the way of the others. Lunch would be soon, and Deidara would have his last 'speech lesson' – then he would be able to give up the shy-boy charade.

Tomato-…I mean…Ah…Yamato, had been cooking a soup for lunch – a very salty soup – and had not required much help in the kitchen. Deidara also didn't want to bother Sasori; he didn't want the red head to hate him for being such a nuisance. "Do you know…Why Danna was out on…Deck last night, un?"

Konan blinked at him innocently, tilting her head slowly, "Can't say that I do know, sorry." She shrugged and took a bite of her bread, "I'm sure it was nothing; perhaps he just wanted some fresh air. He rarely leaves his cabin during the day, so you can understand why he would need to go out every once in a while." She swallowed the piece of bread she had been chewing, giving the blonde a grin, "So why don't you tell me about you and him?"

Deidara blinked in surprise, a soft pink blush rising to his cheeks, "Huh? What do you…Mean? There is nothing going…On between Danna and…Myself, un."

Konan leaned back casually, eating another piece of bread with a wolfish grin, "That may be so, but you like him, don't you? You can't lie to me, Blondie."

"Of course I don't!" Deidara stared at her, wide-eyed and still blushing subtly, "Danna is just…Very kind to me, un."

"Hmmm…" Konan's grin fell and she slowly licked her lips, "I guess so…" The bluenette suddenly gave him a sharp look, "So…Do you remember-" She was suddenly cut off, giving a blink once they both heard Yamato call out to the crew. Konan was climbing down the ropes within seconds, Deidara quickly moving to follow after her, albeit he wasn't nearly as fleet-footed.

Soon they were both below deck, giving servings of salty soup to the rest of the crew members. Yamato tapped the blonde on the back, giving him a friendly smile, "Go take a bowl to Sasori; he needs to eat too, you know."

Deidara nodded and Yamato took the blonde's position of filling bowls while the blonde went up the stairs, carrying a hot bowl for Sasori. He also still had his half a loaf leftover, so he would give that to the red head as well as a sign of thanks.

The blonde reached the red head's door, confidently knocking on the wooden structure. Instead of a voiced reply from inside, he was surprised to have the red head actually open the door. The man looked slightly flustered, especially once he realised that it was Deidara.

"What is it, Brat?" Sasori looked down, noticing the food which the blonde carried, and he quickly realised his own idiocy, "Ah, thanks…" He blinked slowly, before his expression faded into a stoic countenance, and he straightened up, "Could you please put it on the table?"

Deidara hesitated slightly but nodded, moving into the room, "I also have some bread for you, Danna…to thank you for all that you've…done for me, un." He placed the food onto the study desk, seeing that there was a piece of paper on it. The note had writing on, but Deidara didn't bother to read it; he didn't want to violate Sasori's personal life. The blonde blinked in surprise once he suddenly heard the door to the cabin shut, and he quickly turned around.

"Well, Brat…" Sasori gave him a smirk which made the blonde's body shiver, and he suddenly lost his ability to move. The red head slowly walked over to him, taking hold of Deidara's shoulders.

The next thing the younger male knew, he had been shoved onto the satin-sheeted bed, with the red head above him. There was no possible escape for Deidara, and he was absolutely terrified…Terrified, and_ excited – _although he really didn't know why he felt the latter at the prospect of being raped again.

Sasori moved his lips down to the blonde's ear, and Deidara could feel the male's hot breath brushing against his skin so sensually that he couldn't help but give a soft gasp. The boy was hotly blushing by this point in time, and it was all he could do not to moan.

"Deidara…" The red head's voice was low, and Deidara shuddered in anticipation, especially once Sasori began to undo the buttons of the blonde's white shirt, "…I need you…" Deidara felt a shiver run up his body, and the older male finished unbuttoning his shirt, opening it up. Sasori suddenly sat up, giving the blonde his usual calm expression, and the red head lightly tapped the tattoo on Deidara's chest, "I need you to tell me about this mark."

…

Deidara blanched up at the red head, but he couldn't help but feel a flood of disappointment sweep over him. He blinked and gave a sudden frown once he realised what question the red head had just asked.

"My mark, un…?" Sasori gave a slow nod at him, urging him to continue, "…I don't know anything about…it. I've had it as long as…I can remember…" The red head frowned, bringing his hand to the tattoo, running his gloved fingers over the raised stitches.

"And what about your hand mouths?" He leaned slightly closer to the blonde, giving him a smouldering smirk, "Or this third mouth on your chest? The one that is stitched shut."

Deidara tensed up, staring up at with a look of shock…Wait, he _knew _about his third mouth?

"I-…" The blonde suddenly glared at the red head, struggling to sit up, "I've told you that I don't know, un! I don't know where I got the tattoo, or the three extra mouths, or any of this shit! My family abandoned me as soon as they found out that I was a freak!"

Sasori gave a sudden soft chuckle, and he leaned down so that their faces were only millimetres apart, giving the blonde a satisfied expression. "Gotcha~"

Deidara realised that he had walked right into the red head's trap, and he sneered up at him in disgust. "You bastard, un."

"Your act was getting tiring." Sasori blew lightly on the blonde's face, before he slowly sat up, "You know perfectly well who I am, right?"

Deidara looked up at him slowly, before giving his own challenging smirk, "You're the Red Sand Scorpion, and Konan is the Angel of White. You honestly make it far too obvious, un."

"You're quite a good actor," Sasori absentmindedly ran a hand through the blonde's soft hair; "you have managed to fool _nearly _everyone on board…All the idiots, at least…"

"But you knew what you were looking for." Deidara continued to smirk up at him, "And what you were looking for was _me_~ That is why you and Konan have been on this ship for two years, un. You were searching for Pein's lost experiment." The blonde slowly licked his lips, "Little ol' me~"

"I almost killed you, you know?" Sasori pulled a gold doubloon from the pocket of his white blouse, waving it slowly, "This saved your life."

"…" Deidara gave a sour look and moved his head to gaze away from the red head, "I hadn't planned on getting raped…It was even an accident that I ended up on this boat, un. Pein just sent me a dream, telling me that you were coming for me. But that was two fucking years ago; I had basically given up all hope of your arrival…But the very moment I saw you boarding the ship a few days ago…" Deidara moved his hand up, grabbing the older male's blouse. He pulled him close, smirking up at him as he dropped his voice to a mere whisper; "_I knew exactly who you were, un~_"

"…" Sasori was far more interested in this rebellious blonde rather than the feckless shy-boy act he had been putting on earlier. "I didn't realise that you were the one that we were searching for until I sent a letter to Lord Pein, questioning him about you. I got his reply today, which confirmed my suspicions."

"Indeed…" Deidara brought his other hand up, gently caressing Sasori's cheek, "You're a lot handsomer than I imagined you would be, un~ It's been quite difficult for me just to keep my hands off of you~"

The red head's smirk fell, and he gave the blonde a calculating look before slapping his hand off of his cheek, "You know, Brat, there is such a thing as overstaying your welcome; and with remarks like that, you're starting to push it."

"All in due time, I guess." Deidara shrugged and the red head got off of him, letting the blonde get up. They both got to their feet, and the younger male grinned at him.

"Thank you for the soup, Brat…" Sasori eyed it carefully, "And the bread."

The red head suddenly felt himself get pulled back to the blonde. A pair of slim, yet strong arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him into a rough kiss. Sasori felt a strange spark coarse through his body at the unexpected contact, but the blonde pulled away before the red head could break the kiss himself. "Thanks for finally finding me, un~…You certainly took your time…"

Deidara sniggered and triumphantly walked out the room, reconstructing his entire shy-boy act as soon as he was no longer simply in the red head's presence.

Sasori watched him leave, still surprised by the kiss.

"He's quite the wild card…" The red head blinked slowly before turning around. Konan was casually sitting on his bed, giving a thoughtful expression. He never liked it when she appeared out of nowhere, "But at least our search is over."

"How long did you know that it was him?" Sasori looked at her slowly, and she grinned up at the red head.

"I met him once when he was just a little kid, so I knew that it was him straight away." She gave a shrug, "I would have told you sooner, but this was _your _search. From day one I told you that I was just tagging along for the ride." The angel gave him a small smile, and she pulled off her hat, revealing more of her cut blue hair, "But at least you now know…Well then, when will we be off?"

"Soon…" Sasori looked away from her, and when he looked back she had already disappeared once more, "…Soon, but not yet."

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	8. Fallen Angel

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Eight

Fallen Angel

Deidara knocked slowly on Sasuke's door, waiting for the male to answer it. He had been planning on keeping his identity secret from Sasori for longer, but that hadn't really worked out, had it?

It was complicated really…It was true in that he had had the markings and the hand mouths for as long as he could remember; he hadn't lied about that. Plus his parents had abandoned him once they realised what a freak he was – Deidara guessed that this meant that he hadn't been born with the extra orifices since you would notice that on a baby. He had only been five when they kicked him out of the house.

That was the same year that he discovered his 'Art'. Using clay and his hand mouths, he could create living explosives. Out of revenge he had used his new found art to kill the family that had betrayed him, blowing their house to flaming smithereens.

Deidara was cut off from his thoughts once he heard the door open, Sasuke looking down at him slowly, "You're late."

The blonde gave a frown, and looked away in faux embarrassment, "I'm sorry…I was finishing off my soup, un…"

"Whatever," the man stepped aside, "come in; this will be your last 'speech lesson'." Deidara nodded and entered the room, Sasuke closing the door behind him. "I don't have much wine left to spare; we can do without it."

"Fair enough." The blonde shrugged and leaned against the table, looking around the room but finding that it hadn't changed at all since yesterday.

"Now then…" Sasuke gave the blonde a critical eye as he took a seat in the single chair, "I want you to tell me everything you know about Akasuna and Konan." Deidara blinked at him slowly, pretending to be surprised by this question.

"I don't know much…" He ran a hand through his blonde hair, knowing that he had to say _something_ that would interest the co-captain. "Sasori has a knack for poisons; at least, he always threatens to kill me using them…And Konan is unusually fleet on her feet; she goes so fast when she is climbing that it sometimes looks as if she isn't even touching the ropes."

That was nothing too harmful, but it would hopefully be enough.

"Poison, you say?" Sasuke eyed Deidara with scrutiny, tilting his head slowly, "Yes; I had a theory about that. You remember, with the story that I was telling Orochimaru and Kabuto last night while you were hiding up in the Crow's Nest." The blonde gave an unhesitant nod, licking his lips slowly, "But everyone knows how quick Konan is…" Sasuke gave a smirk, "But it is interesting to know that 'he' is actually a 'she'…"

Deidara's eyes widened as he realised that he had accidentally been calling Konan a girl…Shit! "What are you talking about, un?" The blonde shot him a glare, "I know that Konan is a 'he' – you probably just misheard me."

"Relax," Sasuke leaned back in his chair, still smirking, "I had my suspicions about Konan's gender. Her voice is too girly, even for a Eunuchs – I was raised in a church orphanage, so I am very familiar with what they sound like…" He gave a shrug, "But I have no qualms with Konan; I don't really care whatever gender she is. Girls are viewed as an easy rape target, which is probably the reason as to why she hides her gender. I'm not fond of rape onboard my ship, so I will keep her true gender a secret."

"…" Deidara frowned and gave a slow nod, "Thank you, un."

"But I have the feeling that you're holding out on me, boy…" Sasuke closed his eyes thoughtfully, "Tell me more about Akasuna."

"…He's a very good doctor." He gave a shrug, "…There's not much left to tell…"

"Show me your back." Sasuke opened his eyes slowly, recalling the offensive word that Orochimaru and Kabuto had carved into the blonde's flesh, "Show me and you may go."

Deidara blinked at him, before giving a frown, "…Fine, un." He pulled his jacket and his shirt up, showing the other male his unscarred back.

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock…The blonde's back should have been covered in scars, not to mention the scarification of the word 'Whore'…But there was nothing…

"Very well." Sasuke turned his chair to face away from the blonde, glaring thoughtfully at the wall, "You may go. I won't tell anyone what you told me today…Stop your speech impediment from now on; unless you can't help the 'un'."

"I can't." Deidara pulled his shirt down and straightened up sourly. He didn't thank the male – he had managed to get information out of the blonde that he had done absolutely nothing to earn. "Goodbye, sir co-captain, un." The nineteen year old paced forward and exited the room, shutting the door behind him.

Sasuke slowly shook his head before giving a sudden cruel smirk…

That would be enough…

-x-

Deidara poked at his dinner, not really having much of an appetite. He didn't know why, but he felt bad for telling Sasuke about Konan's gender. She was his ally, and yet he had just been so careless. It made him want to just slap himself.

"Don't worry about it." Deidara blinked in surprise, turning to see Konan sitting next to him. The other crew members sat away from the blonde, and the bluenette had been asked by Yamato to take Sasori's dinner to him. She now had her own plate of food, and she was sitting so that her back was turned towards the rest of the crew so that they couldn't see her stoic expression. "Sasuke isn't interested in me at all – he couldn't care less about my gender."

Deidara watched her slowly before giving a nod, "I gave him as little information as possible, un."

"I know," she gave a shrug, "but just to be on the safe side, don't mention this to Sasori. He can be very…reactive." Deidara nodded and the bluenette gave a soft smile, "Do you remember?"

"…" The blonde ran a hand through his hair, "Faintly; I was quite young at the time." He watched her slowly, blinking his large crystal blue eye at her, "Why don't you retell it to me from your own perspective, 'Angel'."

"…" She smiled at him, "You really don't remember much…But you remember more than Sasori at least."

-o-

_14 Years Ago_

"There is one I need you to find." A man with spiky orange hair stood in front of the bluenette, looking out the window of the temple. He wore a dark cloak with blood red clouds on, while his face was pierced with many black studs. "He is only eleven years old, but he has a very special gift that has troubled him greatly in his life. I need you to find him before he becomes too mentally damaged. I don't want him to be useless to us."

"Yes, my Lord." To call Konan a simple angel would be a lie – in actual fact, she was a fallen angel. She had descended to Earth to spread the good news, but had been instead hunted down by the civilians, who had taken it upon themselves to rip off her feathered wings.

She had been helpless, until Pein had found her. He had replaced her angel wings with wings of paper. The girl had long blue hair that fell just below her waist, and an origami rose was positioned in her gorgeous locks. Konan wore a long snow-white dress that reached her ankles; her feet were shoeless, and she had a stud underneath her lip.

"His name is Sasori Akasuna. He did reside in Sunagakure, but he recently ran away from home…" The bluenette nodded before she disappeared into an array of various pieces of paper, twirling out the open temple window.

-x-

It was a long month of almost endless searching before she finally found the boy she had been requested to find. He had managed to travel some distance from Sunagakure, which was a central mainland village – he had almost reached the great port city of Iwagakure.

He was a young boy of eleven with red hair and ragged clothes, carrying a fine satchel with him – most likely his necessary supplies. Konan took on her solid human form and began to follow after him, her feet making absolutely no noise.

"You." She spoke with her voice slightly lifted, trying to attract the boy's attention without startling him too much. The eleven year old flinched slightly before stopping, turning to look at the woman. His eyes widened at the sight of the heavenly creature, and she walked closer to him, "You are Saso-"

She was cut off by the sound of a scream. They both turned to see a young boy running towards them, with an angry shop keeper after him. "GET BACK HERE, YOU BRAT!" The child couldn't have been older than five years old, and in his arms he clutched a loaf of bread to his chest.

The boy reached the strangers, and his first response was to hide behind Konan, seeking safety from suffering. The baker stopped, scowling at the disturbance, "That little brat has stolen from me! I demand he give me back what is mine!"

The bluenette slowly turned, looking at the small blonde boy, "Give back the bread." She offered her hand to the kid, and he stared up at her with wide eyes, before he looked away, placing the loaf into her palm. The angel straightened up and offered the bread back to the baker, "Here."

The man took the bread away, giving a huff, "As soon as I catch you, boy, I'm gonna sell ya!" He growled before turning and storming off back towards the village. Konan watched him leave before she turned to the red head, surprised to see that he had turned his attention to the small blonde boy.

Sasori frowned at the scrawny figure, before he went down onto one knee, unslinging his bag. Konan noted how the red head had his hands heavily bandaged, with not a single gap of skin showing. Sasori fished around in the satchel for a few moments until he suddenly pulled a bright red apple out of it.

The blonde's eyes widened at the sight, and his mouth was most likely watering. The red head held the apple out to the boy, and the kid quickly took it, immediately digging his teeth into it. Sasori watched him for a few moments before he straightened up, "Now run off."

Konan frowned at the little blonde boy…He had the aura…

The kid was also one of Pein's test subjects…How coincidental…

But her Lord had only told her to bring back the red head – the blonde mustn't have been of any interest to Pein if he hadn't wanted him as well. Or perhaps he was just too young; whatever the reason, Konan couldn't take him.

The blonde blinked up at the red head, giving him a wide smile, "…Thank you, un." The kid quickly took off in the direction of the closest city, that being Iwagakure.

Konan watched the boy leave, wondering if she would see him again. It seemed more than likely, since he was one of Pein's experiments, but of course there were many problems which could occur. He was still young, and a lot of past experiments had not even lived beyond their tenth year.

The bluenette turned to the red head, who was currently slinging his bag back onto his shoulder, "You are Sasori Akasuna?"

"…" The red head blinked at the woman, surprised, "How do you know my name?"

She eyed him slowly, before she gave a polite bow, "My name is Konan; I am also known as the Angel of White." Sasori continued to eye her suspiciously; he didn't have any idea who she was. "I am perfectly aware of your predicament concerning your gift." The woman gestured to his bandaged hands, and he couldn't help but scowl at her.

"My _'gift'_?" He aggressively spat his disgust, "If you know so much about it, you would understand that this 'gift' is a curse!" The red head looked down at his bandaged hands before clenching them tightly in desperation, "I kill everyone that I touch!"

-o-

*End of Flash Back*

Deidara gave a fond smile as he slowly stirred his soup, shaking his head reminiscently, "It was all so long ago, un…You say that Danna doesn't remember?"

"No, he doesn't." She gave a slow shrug and a smirk, "I had to take away some of his memories before he could be accepted into Akatsuki. Part of the criteria called for a memory of generosity, so I chose that one." Konan scratched the back of her head sheepishly, "But anyway, I didn't really think the memory would be that important…I'll let you keep it though."

"Good; I'm quite fond of that memory, un." He shrugged while giving a soft smile, "What memories do you require to be erased?"

"To be accepted into the Akatsuki, I need at least one memory of generosity, of pain, of honesty, or terror and of joy. That is what the criteria has always been." She gave a shrug, "Members require dedication – and what could be more precious to give up than one's memories?"

"I'd be willing to give up some memories to join the Akatsuki," Deidara shrugged his shoulders slowly, "I don't see the harm, un."

"It depends on the memories chosen," she watched as the blonde took a sip of his soup, "remove the wrong memory, and it could change the person completely. Two times we have lost a prospective member because of it." Konan tapped the table slowly in thought, "It is impossible to foresee the affect that it will have on the person…How much do you know about us?"

Deidara downed the entire bowl of broth, giving a soft sigh as he placed it back down onto the table, "Very little, actually…The only information I have was told to me by Sasori and by that dream that Pein sent to me two years ago…But I have mostly forgotten that anyway, un."

Konan gave a slow nod, scratching the back of her head, "I owe a lot to Sasori – when I had my original wings ripped off, I lost all of my emotions as well. I simply became a beautiful husk…" She gave a reminiscent smile, "But while training him, he reminded me…We ended up teaching each other important lessons of life. He taught me how to feel emotion, and I taught him to remain stoic…" She gave a slow laugh, "That's why I took this mission with him; I owe him much more than he realises."

"You're a Fallen Angel, right?" Deidara eyed her slowly, "Does that mean that there is a heaven, un?"

She continued to slowly smile, giving a soft giggle, "Oh, there's _something_…" The ageless angel pulled a dagger out of her clothing, twirling the knife half-heartedly in her hand, "But I find Earth to be so much more…_Interesting_."

"So you're going to make me wait until I die to find out?" He smirked at her playfully, "Who knows how long that will be, un?"

Konan's expression faded into sudden stoniness, and she looked at the dagger with critical eyes. A small smirk suddenly curved her lips as she fell into poetry, "All men still shall this day die; like doves to pearly gates they fly. This one, that one, bring about them all, or to dark depths of hell they fall. Happy bullet, inside chest doth go. Oh, for the angels, what a sweet show…Death may be closer than one wishes so…"

_Please Review?_


	9. Punishment

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Nine

Punishment

The red head's hands were gloveless. Sasori was busy packing up the last of his vials, having been too preoccupied to put them away previously. As he did so, he quietly sang a song that he had heard so many years before, "There once was a pirate, who put out to sea. His mates all around him, no maiden on his knee…Oh, sail for a little, for just a little, little. Sail for a little, until she finds him…" He silenced his singing to hum for a while, putting the glass jars away in their proper places before returning to the vocal portions of the song. "The sea was so violent, the crew went below. They begged him to join them, but he would not go…Her heart was so laden; she fell by a tree, and sang of some pirate who haunted the sea. A wail through the willows, all hollow through the willows; she'll wail through the willows, until she finds him. We'll sail for a little, for just a little, little. Sail for a little, until she finds him…"

He looked around the cabin with a satisfied sigh, having finished tidying it up at last. There was a sudden knock, and Sasori perked up at the distraction, shooting an annoyed expression at the door. The damn Brat kept on annoying him – he had specifically told him on various occasions that he had no right to bother the red head unless it was a life or death situation.

Sasori moved over to the door and opened it, surprised to find that it wasn't Deidara who was disrupting him this time. Instead, it was none other than Sasuke who stood in the doorway. He was dressed in his more formal attire, including his midnight blue captain's cloak. "Hello Akasuna," his voice was its usual bitter tone, "may I come in?"

Sasori eyed him slowly but he was aware that he couldn't actually deny the co-captain entry. He stepped to the side and gestured for the male to enter, "Of course; come in, Sasuke." The younger male walked inside, looking around slowly while Sasori shut the door, "So then, for what reason have I been graced with one's company this fine day?"

Sasuke turned to look at the red head, his eyes narrowing into a half-hearted glare, "I have made it blatantly obvious that I am not particularly fond of you, Akasuna; it would be fair enough for me to claim that I go so far as to hate you."

"Fair enough," Sasori gave a shrug and took a seat at his desk, "why don't we just say that we hate one another and we shall call it a day?"

"You misinterpret me, Akasuna; I'm not simply here to express how much I detest you." He leaned back against the desk casually, "You are quite fond of the new kid…"

Sasori watched him slowly, his mouth a thin emotionless line, "You are wrong; while I am admittedly less strict on the boy than what I am with other crew members, I do not in any way have feelings for him…If that is what you were alluding to, then you are mistaken."

Sasuke scratched his arm thoughtfully, not looking out at the red head, "I think you do in fact care for him…More so than you would like to let on…"

"Well I _know_ for a fact that you are wrong." Sasori continued to give him the bitter look, remaining straight in his chair, "Now why are you here exactly?"

The younger male removed his hat, rearranging the two feathers on it thoughtfully, "I'm here because I am sick of you blackmailing me about my relationship with Naruto." He pulled his hat back on and turned to look at Sasori, "But I have a proposition for you that I'm hoping you will agree to…Konan is your friend, right?"

Sasori leaned back in his chair, apparently apathetic to the mention of the name, "I don't care much for him; he could be called a friend, but we aren't necessarily close to one another."

Sasuke gave a cunning smirk at the red head, "I know that Konan is actually a girl…"

Sasori continued to give the male the same stoic expression, "Really? I've always been led to believe that Konan is a male, but if you say so…" He gave an uncaring shrug, "I don't really see how his gender affects me in any way."

Sasuke continued to smirk at him, "Captain Sakura would be _more_ than interested to learn that she isn't the _only_ female onboard…Or perhaps I should just go straight to Orochimaru and Kabuto; it has been a long time since they have had a girl to have fun with…"

"…" The red head couldn't help but narrow his eyes, "So then, what made you come to the conclusion that Konan is a girl?"

Sasuke gave a soft chuckle, turning his body around so that he was completely facing the doctor, "Your little boy toy told me."

Sasori was quiet for a few moments before he sat forward in his chair, "And why, pray tell, would my so called 'boy toy' tell you something like that? In fact, why would he even know something like that?"

The younger male leaned closer to the red head, his smirk fading until it was toothless, "How should I know why he would know something like that? I always had suspicions about the girl; I know what eunuchs sound like, and her voice is too different…"

Sasori's eyes narrowed and he pursed his lips together in irritation, "What is it that you want?"

"Let us swap information for information." Sasuke leaned back, his smirk falling altogether, "I will agree to keep the secret about Konan's gender to myself, if you and your boy toy agree to forget about me and Naruto. I won't blackmail you as long as you don't blackmail me. It's as simple as that, Akasuna…"

The red head continued to glare at the male, but his expression soon relaxed into a simple bitter countenance, "…Fine then. If you don't reveal Konan's true gender to the captain, or to anyone, I will refrain from blackmailing you concerning Naruto."

"Deal." Sasuke straightened up, giving a satisfied smirk. "But let's agree, that if we do find out more dirt concerning the other, we can blackmail one another with said new information."

Sasori didn't smirk at the younger male, folding his hands beneath his chin slowly, "Fair enough. I'll agree to that."

"Good talking to you, Akasuna." Sasuke moved his hat slowly, his gleeful expression fading, "Say hello to Deidara for me." With that said, he turned and walked out of the red head's cabin, shutting the door behind him.

Sasori watched the door for a few moments before suddenly lashing out in anger, knocking two rolled up maps onto the floor. Dammit! He had told the blonde that he was to under no circumstances reveal the bluenette's true gender!

The red head had gone so far as to use death threats, but the boy had gone and revealed it anyway! Sasori gave a low growl, and spontaneous bursts of flame emerged from his palms, accidentally scorching the wood of the desk.

The male blinked in surprise and quickly cooled his temper, the fire subsiding a few moments later. He frowned down at his un-gloved hand, the skin being unburnt; his poison was resistant to flames, meaning that it didn't harm his skin whenever he went a bit over the top.

Sasori leaned back in the chair, giving a long sigh, staring up at the ceiling, "Dammit…" He couldn't let this go by unpunished…But first, it would be best to get the blonde's side of the story, just in case Sasuke had been lying…He began to think, slowly singing the song of pirates he had heard long ago. "We'll sail for a little…A little, little, little…We'll sail for a little…" Sasori paused slowly before giving a smirk as a plan came to mind, "Until he finds him…" He pulled his gloves back on.

-x-

Deidara was busy cleaning the floor below deck, slight perspiration appearing on his forehead as a result of the hard work. Konan had also been cleaning, but she had long since finished the section which she had been working on. She now was lying lazily in one of the many hammocks, making small talk with the blonde about nothing of particular importance.

"The sea is so blue today…" She looked out the porthole, eyeing the water with a thin line instead of a smile, "…I think storms are coming soon…" Deidara didn't take his eyes from his task, giving a gruelling sigh.

"I hope not…I'm still trying to gain my sea legs, un. I'm just happy that I didn't suffer from sea sickness." He shrugged and continued to vigorously scrub at the deck.

"You're lucky," Konan gave him a playful smirk, "Sasori was terribly ill on his first few days at sea." She giggled and swung the hammock with her still in it, enjoying some time without work. "I don't really like storms – everyone is busy with working on the sails, and they always force me to go below deck because they assume I'd just get in the way." Konan pursed her lips together in annoyance before she gave a shrug, "It's always so boring for me…"

"A lot of people would be happy to stay below deck during a storm, un – back in Iwagakure, I heard many stories of sailors and pirates alike being thrown into the ocean." Deidara sat up with an exhausted sigh, "Storms are best to be avoided…"

"Only when they can be avoided; if they can't, then you're best to embrace them." She shrugged and continued to swing in the hammock, staring up at the ceiling, "But some storms are inevitable – they help us to grow…"

Deidara knew that they were no longer talking about storms of the sea, "I think I've had enough conflict in life, un."

"Life _is_ conflict." She gave a thoughtful sigh, "Lights out will be soon…Are you going to sleep in Sasori's cabin again tonight?"

"I don't know." The blonde leaned back on the heavily scrubbed floor, also gazing up at the ceiling, "I just feel safer sleeping in there than I do down here. I know that it is suspicious for the others to see that I'm sleeping in his room, but…" He gave a sudden scowl and banged his fist on the floor, "No. I'll sleep in here tonight…Or else, I'll spend the night in the Crow's Nest. I'll go anywhere other than Sasori's room."

"Trying to avoid the storm, I see…" She gave a knowing smirk and shook her head, "As I said; don't run away from the storms in life, Deidara."

"I'm not trying to avoid a storm." He sat up quickly and gave her an incredulous expression, "What storm is there to avoid? I haven't done anything…That Sasori knows about, at least, un." Konan looked at him silently, simply watching the male with an ironic expression, and Deidara paled. "Sasuke told him…"

The blonde quickly got to his feet, knowing that avoiding the red head would be the worst possible thing to do, "Good luck." He nodded and went up the stairway, leaving Konan alone below deck. She rolled her eyes and looked up at the ceiling, her hammock swaying slowly back and forth, "Mortals honestly take life too seriously…"

-x-

Deidara knocked at the door to the red head's cabin calmly, not wishing to seem eager. The older male's voice came from inside, giving him permission to enter, and the blonde did. Deidara opened the door and shut it behind him, gazing over at the red head who sat at the desk of the room.

Sasori looked up at him with the usual stoic expression which he had been taught to perform by the ageless fallen angel. "Hello, Brat; have you come to beg for me to forgive you and to instantly have my trust in you restored?"

Deidara frowned at him slowly with a hard expression, "What was it that Sasuke told you?"

The red head narrowed his eyes slowly, having expected the blonde to immediately deny the accusations made by the Akatsuki member…This kid was interesting. "He told me that you revealed to him Konan's true gender. Is this correct?"

The boy stifled slightly before looking away from Sasori, scowling to himself, "I didn't mean to tell him…He asked for information about you two and I just said about how Konan was fleet-footed, un. But I accidentally referred to her in female terms, and he caught on immediately…In any case," he looked back at the red head, "he claimed to have no interest in her gender, and revealed that he had had speculations about her being a woman anyway."

"…" Sasori stared at the blonde thoughtfully, "So what you are telling me is that it was…an accident?"

Deidara watched him, remaining relentless in his gaze, "Yes, it was an accident, un…If you must put it so bluntly."

"Nevertheless, you cannot afford to make accidents. My trust in you is still wounded in any case, and you must be punished for such a blunder." Sasori leaned back in this chair and he turned to look out the window which lined the wall behind his desk, watching the ocean. There would soon be storms. "You are not allowed to come to my room unless you are ordered to by Yamato or by another member of the crew. I told you when you first boarded that Konan was to be your supervisor; I am a simple antisocial navigator who doubles as the Lightning Queen's doctor. If you don't understand then, as you previously suggested, I will put it bluntly. Leave me the fuck alone."

The younger male stared at him as if he were insane, "What? But you're supposed to be my mentor, un!"

"I never said that," Sasori looked back to him, scowling deeply, "Konan is your mentor, and I have never stated otherwise. There is no purpose for you to keep bothering me, and I am a very busy man."

Deidara continued to sneer at the red head, finding himself undeserving of such a harsh punishment, "It was just an accident – I shouldn't be punished to such an extent. I like your company, un."

"Well perhaps I don't like _you_." Sasori was now glaring at him, and the temperature of the room seemed to have suddenly spiked.

Deidara stared at the red head with his mouth slightly gaping, as if in awe. The blonde flushed and quickly looked away from the red head, scowling in embarrassment at nothing in particular. "Well maybe I don't need you to like me…" Deidara's voice had dropped, and it was obvious that Sasori's words had wounded him.

"You don't, and I won't." The red head continued to eye the blonde who still refused to make eye contact with him. He couldn't help but feel a sudden stab of guilt, but he knew that what he was doing would be best for the both of them, "Now then; you are no longer allowed to sleep in my cabin, so you best go below deck before lights out is declared in a few minutes."

Deidara didn't even nod, begrudgingly walking to the door and exiting without a sound and without looking back at Sasori. The door slammed shut behind him and the red head gave a harsh sigh, shaking his head before turning to look back out the window. Yes, soon there would be storms…

_Review Please?_


	10. A Memory

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Ten

A Memory

Deidara and Sasori had spoken little since the red head had set the rules as the blonde's punishment. The only time they even saw the other was when the blonde was asked by Yamato to bring the red head his food, though an equal amount of time he asked Konan to take it to Sasori. It had been two weeks since that had happened; since then, Deidara had become much better in his movements around the ship – although he was still a long way off from being as fleet-footed as Konan was, but that was understandable.

He was earning his sea legs on board the ever-moving vessel, and the blonde was determined to still get better. His shy-boy façade was lessening each day around the entire ship, and many of the crew members were growing to be fond of this new outgoing blonde.

As two people had prophesised not too long before, they were entering the sea's season of storms. However, they had been lucky enough to have not met with any ravenous storms as of yet, but the tides would soon change.

Deidara had just finished swabbing the deck, when he noticed that amongst the usual bustling that went about onboard, he could see Naruto standing alone at the very front of the Lightning Queen, looking out at the vast ocean ahead. Storm clouds were gathering in the far off distance, and the co-captain was steadily watching them with a disheartened face. Deidara blinked at him before moving to investigate, casually striding to Naruto's side. He leaned against the railing, following the blond's gaze before judging by the distant look in his eyes that the male wasn't actually watching the ocean.

"You alright, Ruto?" Most of the crew generally called Naruto by this nickname, and he never seemed to mind. There was a flicker of a response in the male's eyes as he came back to reality, turning partly to look at the blonde.

"Oh, hey Deidara." He managed to a friendly smile, before looking back at the ocean, the grin fading, "I don't like storms – a few years ago there was a storm so bad that it destroyed much of the base of the boat. It was lucky that we were so close to a port, or we would have all drowned. Nevertheless, it took a few months to repair…" He gave a frown, "In fact, it was at that same port that we found Sasori and hired him…" The blonde guessed then that the storm hadn't been a coincidence. Naruto was silent in thought, and Deidara saw him mentally daze off again.

"So then…" The blonde couldn't help but smirk, "how long have you and Sasuke been together, un?"

The blond abruptly flushed and quickly turned to the blonde, "Huh? Me and Sasuke, Dattebayo?" He frowned and looked around, as if worried by something, "Look…" Naruto had lowered his voice so that he was sure only Deidara could hear him, "If anyone finds out, we could be forced to walk the plank…And that is only if we're lucky! We could both be left stranded on a sandbar with nothing but a knife or a pistol with a single bullet between us, Dattebayo…We could be tied to a rope that loops the hull of the ship and have our bodies scraped against the base of the boat until we either break of drown. Or we could be covered with blistering hot tar and feathers, tied to the main mast and left to starve to death in humility…"

Deidara blinked at him slowly, having never known that the consequences could be so severe, "Really?"

"Of course!" Naruto's face was pale as he thought about the possible punishments which could befall him and his lover, "…So please…I don't know how you found out, but I beg of you to not tell anyone…"

Deidara gave a frown, and he suddenly realised that Sasuke wasn't as hostile as he had originally thought. Sasori had been the one who had blackmailed him in the first place, and Sasuke was just trying to protect his own love from harm.

The blonde frowned and looked out at the gathering storm clouds, knowing that it would be the most ferocious storm they had encountered thus far, "Don't worry; your secret is safe with me, un."

"…Thank you, Deidara." Naruto managed to give him a soft sad smile before straightening up, "I better get the crew prepared for the approaching storm. You should go tell Konan that a storm is coming and that he will have to go below deck as soon as it hits. Yamato should already be down there, and I doubt that Sasori will leave his cabin…He might be a bit irked off if he hasn't packed away all his scrolls – some of them are quite frail and will rip if they are left out due to the violence of the storm. He usually has a good sense for weather, but best to go check up on him after you warn Konan."

"Yes sir," Deidara gave a nod to the co-captain before he went off to find Konan. When he found the girl, he was faintly surprised to see that she was talking to the captain of the Lightning Queen. Sakura Haruno.

"Yes it does get so boring!" The pinkette gave a melodramatic huff, the two long feathers on her hat drooping finely, "I mean, when I signed up for this I thought 'Oh! The only girl aboard a ship full of men! How will I ever survive?' But the only ones who ever pay attention to me are always the common street rats, like that boy Rock Lee." She gave a heavy sigh and Konan gave a sophisticated nod.

"I know what you mean." The bluenette gave a shrug, "When I took this job in the first place, I thought it would be the whole adventure stereotype – become temporarily marooned on a tropical paradise, find a chest of buried treasure and then spend the rest of my days snoozing on a beach." She gave a dreamy expression and Sakura gave a content sigh at the description.

"Yes, I think that that goes through everyone's head when they first decide to sail the seas as a pirate. I remember as a little girl at the orphanage how I used to dream of a life full of riches and gold, with Sasuke at my side." She gave distant look, "I'm the one who named this ship. Do you know why I named it the Lightning Queen?"

"Can't say that I do," Konan gave a shrug, "it just seems like a nice name."

"Well, when we were young, I lived at an orphanage with both Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke's entire family had been killed by his older brother, Itachi. There was one day when he gave such a speech about avenging his family that a burst of lightning sparked in the sky and struck the roof of the house next door to the orphanage. The kids then grew scared of him, and they often called him the Lightning Rod, thinking that he had been the reason for the misfortune. I still loved him, and I thought that I would marry him for so long…So when they asked me what I wanted to name our new ship, I decided to call it the Lightning Queen, hoping that soon I myself would be able to take on the name as well. But that was four years ago, and the title is now but a legacy of a long lost love." She slowly shook her head and Konan nodded in dismay, before Deidara decided to interrupt.

He walked up to the two females, giving a frown, "Captain…"

Sakura shot him a daggered glare, her hand threateningly moving to the handle of her pistol, "You better have a damned good reason for being in my presence, street scum, or else I'll shoot you right between the eyes!"

Deidara felt a flare of anger inside of him but he kept it down, knowing that to yell at the captain would surely lead to his demise, "Sorry to bother you, but Naruto has told me to warn Konan of the approaching storm, and that he is to go down below deck when it hits, un."

Sakura continued to glare at him for a few seconds before relaxing, letting her hand drop from the pistol. The weapon would have its chance later. "Very well; I won't kill you." She turned to Konan, giving a friendly smile, "It's always nice chatting to you, boy."

Konan removed her hat in respect while giving a nod, "It's always a pleasure, Captain Ma'am." Sakura turned and marched off, starting to bark orders at other crew members about the approaching storm. The bluenette chuckled before turning to the blonde, "She utterly loathes you!"

Deidara gave her a bitter look, "And she loves you. Why would you get close to her, un?"

Konan gave a shrug, still smirking widely before she put her hat back on, "It is a smart idea to make allies in high places – like you and Naruto. There is no harm in earning their trust. Besides, she doesn't know my gender. That girl just likes having someone to talk to, and who am I to deny that?"

"I guess," Deidara gave a frown and nodded, "Sasori doesn't seem to like that tactic though…He tends to make an enemy out of everyone he meets." The blonde glowered bitterly in another direction, and Konan gave a giggle.

"Sasori isn't the type to get close to people – he had bad experiences when he was young. He accidentally killed a few close friends and family due to his skin condition." She gave a concerned frown, "It has affected him greatly…I took away the memory of him killing his best childhood friend, Karura, though. A memory of terror…I believe that the removal of that burden from his mind is the only reason he isn't completely insane." She shrugged, "But none the less, he still has trouble getting close to people. Sasori is a logical man."

"Illogical is more like it." He sneered but relaxed his countenance once he felt a drop of rain patter against his cheek, followed quickly by another. Deidara looked up at the sky, giving a thoughtful frown, "We're entering the storm, un."

Konan gave an ironic laugh, as if she knew something. "Well then, I guess it is time to go below deck." The ageless angel gave a sudden bitter expression. She in fact had more experience with sailing in storms than anyone aboard the ship. Konan had been a pirate for almost thirty years, after all. She'd been on the sea longer than anyone onboard had been alive. And yet she was always forced to go below deck.

It was quite annoying.

"I will join you soon." Deidara gave a shrug, the rain becoming gradually heavier, "Naruto told me to go warn Sasori that we were entering a storm." Konan nodded in understanding and casually moved to go below deck, disappearing down the stairs while wearing a disquieting smirk.

The blonde frowned and looked around the deck. The rest of the crew were already in position for the storm, shouting directions to one another. They were working in tangent, mighty stalwarts who were prepared for the danger of the storm.

Deidara knew he would have to go inform Sasori before he could go below deck with Konan. The blonde gave a sigh and began up the short flight of stairs which led to the second level of the deck. He begrudgingly walked to the fourth door, pulling his small jacket a bit more tightly over his soaking body. The rain continued to pour and Deidara felt the beginnings of the uneasy rocking of the Lightning Queen.

He shivered at the bitter winds mixing with the wetness of the rain, stubbornly knocking on the red head's door. A few seconds passed before Sasori opened up the door, blinking at the blonde apathetically, "Yes?"

"Naruto sent me to tell you that a storm is com- Woah!" The ship unexpectedly hit a wave, causing the blonde to lose his footing. He fell forward, tumbling against Sasori. The red head had managed to keep his place when the wave struck, having been aboard ships for fourteen years – excluding times when he was at the AkatsukiTemple – but he didn't expect the sudden weight of the blonde.

They tumbled to the ground with an oomph, the boat continuing to vigorously rock. Sasori gave the blonde an annoyed glare as he sat up, Deidara's hands pressing against his chest, "You did that on purpose."

The blonde flushed and shot the red head a dark glare, "Why the fuck would I do that on purpose, un?!" Deidara quickly got up, but stumbled back suddenly as the boat took another hit. He bumped into one of the shelves as the boat nose-dived. The door slammed shut at the new angle, and it took a few uneasy seconds for the ship to once again level itself. Deidara gave a sigh and straightened up, though left a hand on the shelf just in case the waves attacked once more.

"It's a bad storm today." Sasori got to his feet and walked calmly over to the window, without any hindrance from the uneasy rocking. He looked out the pane which was currently being pattered by rain, giving a soft hum, "It's going to last a while as well…" Sasori mumbled something to himself, giving a disturbed frown before looking back to Deidara. He watched the blonde for a few seconds, as if it was the first time he had ever laid eyes on the boy, "…You're soaking."

Deidara glowered at him unenthusiastically and spoke with a bitter monotone, "I noticed."

Sasori walked over to him, the blonde almost losing his footing again due to the crash of a wave, although the red head seem unaffected by it. He stopped in front of the blonde, bringing his hand up to gently brush his cold cheek, "You remind me of someone…" He watched his gloveless hand as he caressed the boy's countenance, "There was a girl back in Sunagakure…Her name was Karura, and I loved her…But-" The red head suddenly stilled, and a sudden haze covered his eyes for a few moments as he tried to remember an event which was no longer there. Recognition abruptly returned and he slowly blinked, "She left."

Sasori couldn't remember the fact that he had killed her. He had touched her, and she had died.

"You look like her…" Sasori leaned closer, as if to get a better look at the blonde's face, "You act like her…" Deidara stared into his muddy brown eyes, and found that he couldn't move.

The blonde was locked within a trance that was only broken when he felt soft lips press against his own…

_Please Review? (There won't be another chapter this Friday due to school work; sorry)_


	11. Sword Play

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Eleven

Sword Play

At first Deidara leaned into the kiss, moaning softly at the soft, tender feeling. But soon he snapped out of his euphoric trance, quickly pulling away at the striking of a wave. He gave an enraged glare and Deidara made a move to slap Sasori across the face.

The red head acted instinctively, having been taught how to fight long ago – he was a fine stalwart warrior with the reflexes of a feline. Sasori grabbed the boy's wrist and instinctively took hold of the blonde's throat, a self defence method which was inescapably automatic. A few seconds past until his mind caught up to his reflexes and he quickly softened his harsh grip, allowing the blonde to breathe, "Sorry; defensive instinct."

He let go of the blonde's neck just as a wave crashed against the ship, and Deidara stumbled forward, knocking over Sasori once more. They hit the floor, the blonde pinning the red head below him. The older male's mind raced but cooled once he recalled the fact that the blonde possessed no weapon and that the red head was far stronger than he was.

"Okay," the red head frowned up at the blonde, face full of irritation, "THAT time was definitely on purpose."

"Maybe so, un…" Deidara shrugged and leaned closer to Sasori, his voice dropping to a quiet but defiant tone, "I will win you, Danna; but it won't be because I look like your little ex-girlfriend." The blonde got to his feet and the red head sat up, watching the younger male for a few suspecting seconds.

"…" A sudden smirk curved Sasori's lips, "Go right ahead, Brat." He got to his feet and in a few seconds he had dominantly slammed Deidara against the closed door, pinning him down, "You want my affections, is it? You'll have to earn them first." The red head studied the blonde sceptically for a moment before chuckling, giving a sly smirk as he let the boy go, "On second thought, you're absolutely _nothing_ like her."

The red head walked back over to his desk and picked up some scrolls which had fallen as a result of the harsh weather, placing them back on the shelf. Deidara frowned defensively before he straightened up, "I see that you're perfectly aware and prepared for the storm, un." The blonde opened the door, a stream of bitter rain splattering on him. He paused before exiting, looking back at the red head, "Can you teach me how to fight with a sword?"

Sasori shot him a distasteful look, "I've already told you; Konan is your mentor. Not me."

Deidara smirked at him challengingly, "But how am I going to win you if you don't give me the opportunity?" The red head seemed to think for a few seconds before giving a sigh.

"Fine…" He looked away from the blonde, "I also think that you have learnt your lesson; so I will revoke your previous punishment." Deidara chuckled slowly and left, leaving the red head with a bitter taste in his mouth, but with a strange smirk on his poisonous lips.

Deidara shut the door behind him and surveyed the area slowly. The rain was like a curtain across the scene, and none of the frantic figures noticed him. The blonde nearly lost his footing again as a wave hit the back of the ship, but he managed to remain standing, quickly moving down the first steps and proceeding down the second steps which led below deck.

Halfway down the stairs, another wave swamped the Lightning Queen, and he didn't succeed in stabilising himself. Deidara tripped down the stairs, slamming down each step at a time. Once he stopped on the flat surface of the room, he gave a groan of pain and slowly got up, his body aching. He limped as he walked, finding Konan swinging within her hammock, although she sat up once she heard his approach. "Took your time." The bluenette eyed him and his limping gait, a sudden hinting grin curving her lips, "_Oh, _so _that's_ why you took so long…"

Deidara didn't understand what she was alluding to until a few moments later, his face suddenly flushing, "No; I'm limping because I fell down the stairs, un." He sat up in his own hammock, giving a sigh of relief at the shift of weight, "I took a while because I was discussing with Sasori about my training…I want to learn how to use a sword."

Konan gave a pout, scratching the back of her head, "I could have always taught you how to use a sword; I'm the one who taught Sasori all he knows…" She eyed him slowly, before giving a shocked expression, "You have bruises on your neck…"

Deidara frowned and felt the tender area, "I tried to slap Sasori; he wanted me…But only for the reason that I reminded him of his girlfriend, Karura…Is there the possibility that he will remember that he killed her?"

Konan shrugged while she shook her head, "No; I didn't just block the memory, I removed it completely from his mind…" She looked at the blonde slowly, "How old are you anyway, Blondie?"

Deidara frowned at the odd question, "I'm nineteen, un…Why?"

The bluenette smirked at him knowingly, "I just thought that you might like to know the ages of a few people." Deidara frowned as Konan began to go on, "Sasori is twenty-five, and he has been a pirate since he was eleven years old. Now the three captains onboard are all twenty-two, having left the orphanage and deciding on the pirate life when they were eighteen."

She grinned and the blonde watched her sceptically, "Well then, since we're on the sudden topic of age…How old are you?"

Konan's grin faded into a simple bitter smile and she looked out the porthole behind her, "As an angel, I don't age. You might say that I'm Eternal, although I can be killed by non-natural causes." She turned back to the blonde, "Today is my 330th birthday." Deidara stared at her as if she were insane, his face paling suddenly. "Although, most of that time was spent _There, _as I've only been on Earth for the last thirty years. I came down in celebration for my 300th birthday," she smiled bitterly, "I could finally become a prophet and preach to humanity. But at the sight of my wings, they grew fearful of me…"

Deidara continued to state at the ageless woman, "…Can you tell me more about Akatsuki, un? About the members individually…"

Konan blinked, snapping out of her sudden depressive slump, giving a grin at the blonde, "Sure! Well first there is Sasori and then myself, though there is nothing much you don't know about us." She shrugged, "Then there is Lord Pein – similar to myself, he is also Eternal. However, he is a demon rather than an angel, his wings still intact. Then there is both Itachi and Kisame, known as the Fire Breather and the Demon Shark of the South. One of the reasons why Sasori and I chose this ship is because Itachi is actually Sasuke's older brother." Deidara's eyes widened in shock, "Itachi killed his entire family – excluding his little brother – after he received his dream from Pein, who had ordered him to do so. Leader promised him that if he were to do this, Sasuke would eventually come to be a powerful figure and he would find true happiness."

Deidara frowned and looked away from the woman at nothing in particular, "But if the Fire Breather has a brother…Then doesn't that mean that Sasuke-"

"It was unintentional." Konan gave a shrug, "We didn't expect Itachi's mother to have a second child…" She gave a sudden smirk, "They don't call Sasuke the Lightning Rod without reason…But his power is raw and untrained, so he has little command over lightning…Unless he is in an ireful temper…"

"Who else is in the Akatsuki?" Deidara was highly interested in whoever else was in the fearsome organisation.

"Well, as I mentioned before there is Kisame. He can transform his body into that of a shark – and even when he is in human form, he is a mutation between these two species." She shrugged, "He is a good ally though and quite cheery. Then-"

She was cut off by a sudden shout, "Konan! Deidara! I know you're out there!" The figure of Yamato popped his head out from behind one of the doorways, "There you are! Stop lazing about and come help me with dinner!" They nodded and quickly scrambled to their feet, the blonde's body still quite sore from his previous fall down the stairs.

-x-

The storm has subsided not long ago, but it had lasted for a while – almost an entire day. The blonde was asleep in his hammock, the rest of the crew also asleep, most of them beyond exhaustion. Deidara was suddenly woken up by someone clamping a hand over his mouth. He opened his startled eyes and felt panic take over him, believing that Orochimaru and Kabuto had come to take him away and to repeat what they had done to him a bit over a week ago.

He began to struggle, but was calmed when a familiar voice cooed in a low whisper, "Shhh, it's Sasori." Deidara stopped his plight and the red head removed his hand from the blonde's mouth, "Come with me." The younger male watched him for a few seconds before giving a nod, quietly slipping off of the hammock.

He followed the red head up the set of stairs that led above deck, finding the area dimly lit by a bright lantern. They moved down to the very front of the ship, where the ring of light lit up the empty scene. "What is it, Danna?"

The red head fiddled with his belt and Deidara's eyes widened once he saw him pull out two swords. "I'm going to teach you how to swordfight – isn't that what you wanted?" The older male gave the blonde an irritated look and Deidara gave an exclamation.

"Oh yeah…But why so late, un?" Sasori walked forward and offered the blonde the handle of one of the swords, the boy taking it slowly, "I'm tired…"

"Wow Brat," Sasori crossed his arms, his own sword in hand, "I am offering to give you crucial lessons in sword fighting, plus the opportunity to win my affection, and all you can do is complain." The red head shot him a good glare, "You need to make up your mind."

Deidara frowned and stuck his tongue out at the red head, "It's the middle of the night; of course I'm going to be a bit pissed off, un."

"My, such aesthetic language…" Sasori lifted up his sword and moved into a sound stance, "You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

The blonde gave a smirk and attempted to imitate the red head's pose, "No, but I do kiss my doctor with it."

"Touché." Sasori eyed him slowly, "Move your sword a bit closer to your body and your feet need to be a little further apart." Deidara followed the red head's remarks until he was satisfied with the blonde's current stance, "Good…Now be on guard – and keep the sound low. They shouldn't be able to hear us, but you can't be too careful."

"Right." Deidara nodded and continued to anticipate the red head's attack, although Sasori stood still, "…Well?"

The red head suddenly swiped at the blonde, and Deidara was momentarily stumped, instinctively moving back to try and dodge. He managed to move out of the weapon's deadly swing, but a few strands of his hair weren't so lucky, blowing away in the wind. He stumbled for a few steps, his hat falling off to the floor of the deck. "Concentrate, Brat."

Sasori didn't pause and he continued on from his initial assault with graceful movements, making a stabbing motion with the sword. Deidara had managed to regain some of his senses and he quickly hit the blade away from his chest, succeeding in blocking the attack.

Sasori withdrew the sword quickly, causing the blonde to stumble for a moment, but he regained his footing almost immediately so that he had the chance to parry, knocking the red head's sword away while he tried to stab Sasori.

The older male pivoted to the side and swung his sword back around, hitting the blonde's blade with enough force that it went out of the blonde's hand and clattered to the deck floor a few metres away. Deidara scowled at the soft throbbing of his hand which had been clutching the weapon only a few moments ago, but his face altered into a surprised expression when a sword was suddenly pointed again his neck. "I win."

Deidara blinked at the red head before giving a smirk, slowing moving his hands up in defeat, "I guess you do, un." The hand mouths stuck out their tongues in defiance, and Sasori withdrew his sword, "How'd I do?"

"You survived – don't you think that is good enough?" He smirked at the blonde and moved over to where the sword had collapsed on the deck, "But if this had been a real fight, you wouldn't have survived the initial attack. Although, I am a highly skilled swordsman – probably second best on this ship, after Konan that is. So…" Sasori frowned in thought as he picked up the blade, "You were quite good for a beginner…You were good enough."

"Thanks…" Deidara pursed his lips, "At least, I think that was a compliment…"

"It wasn't." Sasori turned to the blonde and tossed him the sword, Deidara quickly catching it – albeit with little grace. "'Good enough' is not good enough." The red head quickly moved back into the prepared stance, waiting for the blonde. Deidara caught on and fell into the same pose, although he still needed a few points of meticulous positioning from Sasori before he was in the correct position. "This time, you come at me…"

Deidara smirked and waited for two whole seconds before lunging at the red head with a powerful swing. Sasori swiftly ducked low, avoiding the blade easily while turning his own. He used the blunt handle of his sword to knock Deidara in the left leg. Sasori used enough force to make the blonde lose his footing, and the boy clattered to the deck with a loud 'oomph'.

"Your footing went off as soon as you attacked." Sasori straightened up and turned the sword around so that the blade was pointed outwards once more, "You're making rookie mistakes, Brat. You'll never win me at this rate."

Deidara groaned and stood up, turning around to face the red head. He gave a determined expression and fell back into the stance, almost getting it correct this time. "Just you wait, Danna; I'll win you yet. I'll make you forget all about that damn ex-girlfriend of yours, un." He gave a sinister grin, "Understand?"

"Keep dreaming." Sasori smirked at the blonde, and pointed his sword at him, "If you want to win my love so badly, you'll have to show me how badly you want it first. I won't give my heart to just any blonde-haired blue-eyed boy, no matter how in love with me he might be." The older male lunged forward with the sword, the younger boy managing to dodge, "Or however long they have waited."

_Review Please?_


	12. Landing

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Twelve

Landing

Konan awoke with a yawn, the first of the crew members. She swung out of the hammock, her body hanging in the air for a few moments before her feet gracefully descended to the wooden floor. She looked at the sleeping blonde – she was aware of his late night training sessions with Sasori, and he was often worn out. The bluenette didn't expect him to wake up for a while now unless someone decided otherwise. The girl moved through the room without bothering any of the other crew members who were still sound asleep, and she climbed up to the main deck.

Konan breathed in the fresh morning air, giving a sigh as she cheerfully walked along the line of the ship, hearing a sudden cawing noise. She blinked and looked up, surprised to see to a single dark raven flying in the cloudless sky. The bluenette quickly scaled the ropes which led up to the Crow's Nest, the bird fluttering down to rest on the edge, "What is it, Fire Breather?"

The crow didn't shift into a human form, simply flying back into the air. Konan blinked and watched the Akatsuki member fly off, her eyes following its path. She gave a gasp as she realised that the bird was headed towards a large mass of land that was just visible over the horizon. She gave a nod, understanding the message of Itachi.

"LAND AHOY!" She jumped out of the Crow's Nest, her body descending through the air slowly, her feet landing lightly on the deck below. Konan suddenly broke into a run, knocking on the four doors of the upper deck, "LAND AHOY!" She then ran down the two stairways until she was below deck, "LAND AHOY!" The crew all gave groans of irritation at being awoken, until her message finally registered in their minds.

They quickly jumped out of their hammocks, feet landing heavily on the wooden floor before they ran past her up the stairway. Deidara gave a groan at being awoken, and he sat up slowly, not realising what all the fuss was about. "What's happening, un?"

Konan rushed over to him, giving a grin, "I've just sighted land in the distance. That means more supplies, plus the chance to walk on dry land for a while." Deidara brightened up at the prospect of walking on solid ground. "You can go back to sleep if you want."

"No way!" Deidara jumped out of the hammock, stumbling a few steps but altogether alright, "This is exciting, un!" Konan gave a knowing laugh and turned around, travelling up the stairway with the blonde quickly following behind. The crew were rushing around deck, with Sasuke and Naruto instructing them on what to do. On the very top deck of the Lightning Queen, Sakura was busy steering the large wooden wheel. It seemed to be one of the rare occasions where Sasori had decided to leave his cabin in daylight.

He stood near Sakura, studying a piece of parchment that was most likely a map. Deidara gave a chuckle at the sight of the man before he returned to following Konan, both of them quickly climbing up to the Crow's Nest. Kabuto was already up there, using a telescope to watch the landmass, "From what I can tell, it has a bustling port…" Kabuto turned to them, his malice towards the blonde completely forgotten in the excitement, "What do you think?"

He offered the telescope to Konan, who gazed through it towards the steadily growing sight, "Yes; I can see ships. The place is definitely a port town, but I can't tell how large it is." She turned to Deidara, "Go to Sasori and find out the name of the location."

The blonde nodded and quickly climbed back down the ropes, running to the highest level of the ship. As soon as he reached the area, both Sasori and Sakura looked towards him, the pinkette giving a glare. "What is it, street scum? You better have a damn good reason for being here, or else I'm going to use you for target practise." She stroked the handle of her gun, continuing to shoot him the glare.

"Calm down, Sakura." The pinkette jumped slightly at the unusual comment by the ship's navigator, "The Brat knows by now that he shouldn't bother either of us unless he has a valid reason." She looked at him, glaring at the red head slowly before turning back to the blonde, waiting for his answer.

Deidara stood up taller and cleared his throat, feeling the tension of the situation, "Konan and Kabuto told me to ask Sasori for information about the new port we're headed for, un…"

Sakura scowled before turning back to the steering wheel, continuing to keep it steady. Sasori walked over to the blonde boy, showing him the map which he held, "The port is known as Konohagakure. It is the largest port city in the world…" He turned his gaze to Sakura, "Plus it is also the birthplace of our three most-glorious captains." Sasori spoke with a monotone, so the blonde couldn't tell whether the last line was meant to be sarcastic or not.

Sakura shot him a sharp look nonetheless, "Watch your tongue, Akasuna." Sasori held up his one free hand in calm but didn't speak, "Yes; it is the old home of Naruto, Sasuke and myself…"

There was a fluttering sound and a harsh cawing which drew the attention of all three pirates. On the back railing of the ship a dark raven had perched, looking at them steadily. The bird tilted its head quickly, watching them with crimson orbs. Deidara could feel its eyes staring at him, as if the bird were scrutinizing and memorising him.

"A raven…" Sakura watched it with a blank expression, slowly blinking at it with her light green eyes, "…That's a bad omen…" She continued to stare at the bird, although she was clearly talking to the blonde, still speaking in the apathetic tone, "Deidara; you stay on-board the ship."

The blonde paled and he felt his stomach drop; he had been so excited at the prospect of dry land, but now that all seemed to vanish. He opened his mouth to complain, but was silenced by a quick pinch from Sasori. The blonde looked up at the red head to find he was giving the blonde a warning glare. Deidara frowned and looked away from the two people, giving a defeated sigh, "…Yes Ma'am…"

"Good." Sakura was still staring at the raven, the bird suddenly taking flight. She seemed to snap out of whatever trance she had been in, stumbling two steps before giving a confused exclamation, "…Huh?" She frantically blinked and looked around, her eyes falling on the blonde, "Well? Get outta my sight, street rat! I can't trust you to leave the ship, so you'll be staying back with Sasuke."

Deidara hid the look of distaste that he was tempted to make, giving a slow begrudging nod, "Yes Ma'am, un." He turned and walked back down the stairs, leaving the red head and the pinkette to their duties. The blonde climbed up to the Crow's Nest, finding that Orochimaru had joined the crew members. All three sets of eyes turned to Deidara, waiting for the answer, "It's Konohagakure."

"Awesome!" Konan gave a cheer and clapped her hands, "Oh, you're going to love it, Blondie! There is so much stuff there!"

"Sakura has forbidden me from going, un…" He gave a grim expression, "She says that I have to stay on-board the ship." The bluenette blinked in surprise, before giving a frown of concern.

"…Oh…Well that's okay." She slowly nodded, "Well I've been to Konoha heaps of times!" The girl gave a sudden smile, "I can stay back with you on-board while the rest go off." She grinned at him widely and gave him a rough pat on the back, "We'll have heaps of fun!"

"Sasuke isn't going either." He gave a shrug but Konan seemed unaffected by this remark.

She roughly patted him on the back, giving a loud laugh, "It'll be awesome!" Orochimaru and Kabuto exchanged looks before they wordlessly climbed out of the Crow's Nest, leaving the two alone. The bluenette's smile immediately fell, "I'm sorry Deidara," her voice had lost its mirthful edge, "but I won't be able to stay on-board with you. I was just saying so to make sure that Orochimaru and Kabuto didn't think you would be alone and helpless. I'll try to persuade Sakura to let you go, but I can't make any promises…she is quite stubborn." Konan gave a shrug and ran a hand through her short blue hair, "…Come on."

She moved over the edge of the Crow's Nest, climbing down the ropes with ease, the blonde quickly following behind her. They moved to the upper deck, where Sakura and Sasori were still standing, discussing the patterns of the wind. When Konan interrupted, the pinkette gave a vicious sneer, until she realised that it was the bluenette. The girl gave a wide smile that freaked the blonde out. "Hey Konan! Such a pleasure to see you! What would you like?"

The bluenette gave a wide smile and pointed at the blonde, "I was just wondering why he wasn't allowed to come out to see the port – I mean I can keep an eye on him if you're worried about him running off."

Sakura blinked at Konan before giving a laugh, "Well when you put it that way-"

"Captain," Sasori took a step forward, "I don't think it would be wise to change your mind after you have already settled on a decision." Deidara and Konan both started in surprise, sending looks of shock at the red head. "The other crew members may begin to doubt your leadership."

Sasori was giving Konan a dangerous look, and they seemed to be sharing a silent conversation. Sakura didn't notice this, giving a frown in deep thought, "Hmm…Well…" She gave a sigh, "I'm sorry Konan, but Akasuna is correct. I should not go back on an order."

"Very well," Konan put her hands behind her head and gave a small laugh, "I understand! And I'm sure Deidara will get over it." She gave a playful salute and grinned widely, "Thanks anyway, Captain!"

The angel marched off, humming happily while dragging the blonde with her. As soon as they were out of hearing shot, Deidara gave a loud growl, "That bastard!" He scowled deeply, "I don't understand him! One minute he is an ally, and the next he is my enemy, un!" The blonde scowled fiercely but Konan simply petted him on the back.

"Relax, Blondie. Sasori is your ally; he must have a reason for wanting you to stay…" She frowned in deep thought, "I'll ask him at the port when I finally get him alone." Deidara gave a begrudging nod but was still obviously angry.

-x-

Deidara watched as he saw the crew walking down the gangplank, only he and Sasuke remaining onboard. The blonde had his sword at his belt, not wishing to seem defenceless. Sasuke stood in his full captain attire, watching the people leave with a sour expression.

Konoha brought back bad memories from his childhood.

Konan was no where to be found, and Sasori was apparently walking alone. Due to his tendency to remain in his room, the crew members didn't notice the new addition of a paper flower on the breast pocket of his coat. The pirates dispersed, taking the time to explore the port which was the home of most members onboard. Konoha had been the very start of the Lightning Queen's story.

Sasori walked away from the general crowd, entering a more secluded part of the town. The origami rose slowly altered into a paper butterfly that fluttered off of the red head's pocket, disappearing down a dark alleyway. A few moments later, a woman walked out of the passage, giving an effeminate giggle.

She was wearing a long elegant sky-blue dress which possessed a petticoat beneath it, so that it stuck out. Her hair was tied up in a bun with white origami flowers within the soft brown locks, and the woman's face was powdered white with her lips painted deep red. The angel's eyes remained bright orange, being the only portion of her body that she couldn't alter.

They linked arms and continued down the street, soon reaching the bustling centre of the village. Konan gave the red head a false loving smile, "Oh darling; it was such a shame that you forced me to leave our sweet child at home. May I ask why?"

Why did you force Deidara to remain behind?

Sasori gave her a charming smile, having no option but to follow with the act, "Oh sweet wench," he gave a soft chuckle, "I saw a raven; you know what an ill omen they are. Its eyes were just so hypnotic! Like fire…"

Itachi appeared and hypnotised Sakura into making him stay onboard.

"Really?" She batted her eyes at him innocently, pulling a white fan from her sash, waving it slowly, "How odd…"

Sasori nodded and looked around, something catching his eyes, "Darling…Would you care for some tea?" He gestured to the shop and she followed his gaze, her fan stilling in its movement.

"Why yes," she looked up at the red head, giving him another tender smile, "I am quite thirsty, darling." They turned and walked into the tea shop, both pretending to notice the two dark figures for the first time, "Oh! Ita and Kisame!" She didn't use the raven's entire name since this was his home village, but the public only knew Kisame by the title of the Demon Shark of the South.

The blue haired man looked up, giving a grin, "Greetings Sasori and Kona!" He didn't use her full name either as she was in disguise, "Long time no see!"

Sasori and Konan sat down at the table, and Kisame told the waitress to bring more tea. The red head turned to the Fire Breather, giving him a serious look as he let go of the brunette's arm, "Now tell me, Ita, why did you not want Deidara to come?"

Itachi watched him carefully before looking away, "I had a dream last night…" They both blinked in surprise and leaned closer, "Sasuke needed backup…And I thought that it would be a perfect opportunity to test this new Akatsuki member."

Sasori's eyes widened and he quickly stood up, "You mean Deidara is in danger?"

"Careful Red," Kisame smirked at him ironically, "your emotions are showing."

The red head stared at them slowly before clenching his teeth together, "I'm sorry but I have to go…" He turned and disappeared out the shop, headed towards the ship. Konan watched him leave, giving a soft sigh as she absentmindedly waved her fan.

"Mortals…Always in such a hurry." The waitress came around with their tea, and Konan sipped from her own cup, shaking her head, "Now then, tell me what I have missed."

-x-

Deidara and Sasuke had been lounging about on deck, both bored beyond belief. They had made little attempt at talking to one another, and they were sitting in silence when the enemy attacked.

(Sorry to leave you with a cliff hanger, but due to exams this story is going to be put on hiatus for a few weeks. I apologize for any inconvenience and any hair that you might pull out as a result of the suspense and frustration. –Woolfy)


	13. Very Soon

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Thirteen

Very Soon

Sasori was progressing down the street with a quickened pace, although he wasn't running – he didn't want to receive too much attention. A woman stepped in front of the red head, stopping him in his tracks. He blinked at her in surprise, giving a deep-set frown, "You changed back?"

Konan had reverted to her normal form – poor barely-seaworthy pirate attire with her cut dark blue hair. She smiled up at him cheerfully, putting her hands behind her head, "Of course! I much prefer my hair like this." The bluenette shrugged and Sasori's face relaxed.

"…" His eyes narrowed once more, "You haven't come to help me…"

"Of course not," she continued to grin at the red head, "I'm here to stop you."

-x-

Deidara was sitting with Sasuke on the deck, refusing to look at one another. Both had their swords on their belts, not fully trusting the other. However, this was a spot of good luck; they were armed when the pirates attacked.

The ship rocked uneasily for a few moments, both males almost losing their footing. Suddenly, a mass of figures leapt over the railing of the Lightning Queen's side, all bearing cutlasses. Deidara and Sasuke quickly moved back to back defensively, drawing their own swords in expectation.

Two pirates who appeared to be twins stepped forward, giving identical smirks. "We're the Sound Brigade; and we're here to take your ship." They spoke at the exact same time, "Our names are Sakon and Ukon. We're the new captains of this vessel, and these are our other main crew members; Kidomaru and Jirobo…Along with the rest of our crew." He gestured to the group of thugs surrounding them, "Now then; who are you two?"

"I am Captain Sasuke Uchiha," he sneered at the twins, "and this is Deidara; a pro-swordsman aboard my ship." It wasn't a compliment; the male was just trying to intimidate the Sound Brigade…It seemed to work for a few of the members, several appearing to hesitate. But the leaders were not so easily fooled.

"Right," Kidomaru gave a wide smirk, "we're totally going to believe that; everyone knows that the Uchiha clan was wiped out long ago. There's no way that you are _the_ Sasuke Uchiha…"

Jirobo turned to Kidomaru with a hesitant frown, "I don't know…There was that rumour going around that Itachi was in Konoha…" Deidara heard the Uchiha give a sharp intake of air, although none of the others noticed it, "Plus I did hear that Sasuke Uchiha became a pirate…"

"Enough!" The twins snapped as one, "There is no way that this is Sasuke Uchiha; and even if he was, he isn't going to be around for much longer." Sakon and Ukon pointed their swords at the two Lightning Queen pirates, "KILL THEM BOTH NOW!"

-x-

Sasori scowled deeply at Konan, "I don't understand why you won't let me go."

Her look faded into a stoic expression, "And I cannot comprehend why you are so insistent to go. You forget who I am, Sasori. I am a Fallen Angel…" She smirked at him slowly, "Time has no meaning to me; the past, present and the future…I already know what happens."

"Then if you do know," Sasori frowned deeply, "tell me how this all ends…" He looked away hesitantly, "I mean…Between Deidara and myself…"

Her smirk faded, and she too looked away from the red head, "If I said that you were destined to have a happy ending…Then I would be lying." Sasori bit his lip, feeling internally torn… "But it should all be fine for everyone else." She gave him a wide grin, "Sure, it is an unhappy ending for a few people, but at least the majority of people end up being happy."

"Well," the red head took a deep breath and calmed himself, returning to his usual stoic character, "if he dies now, then all those happy endings won't end so cheerfully."

"Relax," she sighed and put her arms behind her head, "I know that he and Sasuke wouldn't be able to take the group on all by themselves. We're not allowed to intervene, but I did send them 'help'." The bluenette pulled her hat slightly to one side, lifting an eyebrow at the Red Sand Scorpion, "Why else would I have returned to this form so soon? You really are making such a big fuss over nothing…" She gave a smirk, "You humans amuse me so…"

-x-

Deidara and Sasuke were doing their best to keep the enemies from killing them, managing to slay several in return. But what the others lacked in sword skill they made up for in numbers. They both knew that they wouldn't be able to take them all, not to mention the fact that the four leaders were sure to be excellent swordsman. Sasuke and Deidara would be long exhausted by the time they finally reached them.

The blonde gave a sudden gasp as - in his lethargy - he stepped forward with the wrong foot, leaving an opening in his defence. The nearest pirate easily spotted this, giving a wide smirk as he immediately went for the opening. Deidara managed to dodge the fatal blow, but not completely. He gave a hiss as the blade sliced deep into the flesh of his arm, leaving an ample gash in the side of his arm.

The blonde hadn't been trained to react to pain, and he instinctively moved his hand up to clutch the wound, realising too late what he had done. The pirate who had attacked before gave an ever wider smirk and swung his sword…

Deidara waited for death, but suddenly the man's face changed into a look of awe and illness. The next thing the blonde knew, a splay of blood burst into the air, and the man collapsed to the ground, his body sliced into three different sections. The blonde stared in absolute shock and looked up to see his heroes…No…It couldn't be…

Orochimaru and Kabuto stood with their swords drawn, covered in the blood of the man they had just killed. Sasuke risked a glace at them, giving a sneer before he went back to parrying an attack, "About time you two showed up."

The fiendish duo joined Deidara and Sasuke so that they were all back to back once more, fighting the enemy who approached while protecting their allies. "We didn't know that the ship was under attack; Konan randomly appeared, telling us that he had to go and look for something. We thought that you and Blondie would be here alone, and that it would be a perfect opportunity to finish our task…" Deidara resisted the feeling of sickness that bubbled inside of him at the allusion to the time when he had been gang-raped.

"Konan?" Two pirates attacked Sasuke at once, and he would have probably been killed if Orochimaru had not quickly swung his sword to kill one of them, leaving the Uchiha with the other. "I haven't seen him all day; I thought he had left the ship with all the others. It's just been Deidara and I this entire time." It seemed Sasuke was far better at keeping the bluenette's gender a secret than Deidara had been.

"…" Orochimaru gave a sneer, "That boy really is an oddity." The group of thugs had momentarily backed off, deterred by the mass of their dead and dying comrades who had already fallen to the deck. They were hesitant to attack; no doubt many of them had families and no longer thought that they could possibly win the fight with half of their men already wiped out.

"What are you doing?" Kidomaru sneered at his crew members, "Kill them!" A few of the thugs took a hesitant step forward before shaking their heads, and in a minute, most of them had ran off, favouring their lives over their jobs. Only a few were left, arrogant enough to think that they could emerge victorious where their comrades had failed. These members were easily wiped out by the group of four skilled swordsmen, leaving only the four captains remaining.

"Whatever!" Sakon and Ukon gave equal sneers, speaking at the same time as per usual, "Now you'll have to deal with us! We'll kill you and take your ship for ourself!" The four Lightning Queen pirates were now able to move from being back to back to stand in a line, knowing they were safe from being attacked from behind suddenly. "ATTACK!" Sakon and Ukon immediately bolted forward, charging straight for Orochimaru and Kabuto, swords clashing in a deadly dance.

The one known as Jirobo ran at Sasuke, the hulking mass of a man being almost double the Uchiha's mass. The other one, Kidomaru, sped at the wounded blonde, his footsteps light on the bloody deck. Deidara held up his sword, able to block the incoming attack. He and the brunette began to fight, the ringing of cutlasses echoing through the air, cutting it like the knives they were.

Deidara was losing strength quickly; he had already been fighting for god knows how long, not to mention his wound, which was bleeding quite heavily. The blonde accidentally stumbled, and Kidomaru took the opportunity to hit Deidara's sword full force, sending it flying across the deck. The blonde took to dodging the male's blade, absolutely helpless now. "Stay still!" The man swung his sword at Deidara several more times, clearly becoming frustrated, but his motions were growing slower…He was getting tired! But then again, so was Deidara…

"Blondie!" Deidara blinked, jumping back a step - out the way of a swing - before glancing quickly at Orochimaru, "Catch!" Something was flying through the air, and the blonde quickly dodged another attack, leaping up to grab whatever it was that the snake had thrown…It was a dagger…

…!

It was the dagger that Sasori had given him on his first day aboard the ship! Orochimaru and Kabuto had taken it! Deidara gave a wide grin and stepped to the side as Kidomaru swung his blade once again, the male temporarily defenceless.

Deidara leapt forward, taking the opportunity to dig the dagger into Kidomaru's exposed side, pushing the blade in deep. The man lurched forward, coughing up spouts of blood while more began to run from the wound, smothering Deidara's hands with the warm liquid.

He withdrew the knife, only to thrust it back down into the back of Kidomaru's neck, killing him instantly. The body slumped to the ground and Deidara pulled the knife out, placing it into his belt before he ran to grab his sword from across the deck. The blonde ran back to see that the others were struggling.

Sakon and Orochimaru, along with Ukon and Kabuto, were having a test of strength; swords locked until the weaker willed would eventually give up. Sasuke was using a smarter method, similar to Deidara's own accidental technique. He was using speed to dodge rather than parrying, knowing that against his thick opponent, he wouldn't be able to win a battle of strength.

Deidara looked to the two struggling men who had raped him not too long ago, feeling a deep hatred stir inside of him. They were too exhausted to keep the attackers off for much longer…

The blonde was tempted to just let them be killed; they deserve it for all that they had done to him and to all the other people that they must have hurt in the past. They deserved to die.

…

Deidara drew his knife, sword in the other hand, and leapt at the attackers. The blades dug deep into hot flesh, puncturing organs and severing arteries. Sakon and Ukon spat out a mouthful of boiling blood; Orochimaru and Kabuto now had no trouble in winning the struggle. They heaved the blades back and once the two attackers weakly stumbled, the snake and his crony sliced off their heads in a nice clean blow.

A second later, Orochimaru and Kabuto turned to stare at the blonde in absolute awe, but the blonde was far more shocked that he had saved their lives than they were…

They all quickly turned to look at Sasuke, who was still dodging attacks – although by this point Jirobo was covered in deep wounds that were bleeding heavily. They watched the pointless struggle for a few seconds more, until Sasuke finally ended it. The Uchiha slashed his blade through the giant's heaving stomach, blood and entrails suddenly spilling out onto the already gruesome deck. Jirobo stood still for two seconds, as if in shock, before he too fell with a loud thud that almost rocked the ship.

They were all panting heavily, their bodies covered in sweat and blood. They all bore the scratches of battle, although the wound on Deidara's shoulder was the worst…Well, compared to what Orochimaru and Kabuto had done to him, it should be barely a scratch, but the fighting had made him weak.

If the two wanted him dead, now was their chance.

He wouldn't even care; he was too exhausted.

Deidara felt his legs give out and he dropped to the bloodied deck, feeling his head spinning. His sword and knife fell too, but he didn't know where they landed. The wound was almost to the bone; far deeper than any slice that the two thugs had inflicted upon him. It was bleeding too heavily…

The blonde suddenly felt hands on him…They were supporting him, keeping his weak body from collapsing. And then he heard a voice.

"Kabuto," it was Sasuke talking, "go fetch Akasuna. Tell him it is an emergency." Deidara thought he heard the sound of running footsteps, disappearing off deck, but he couldn't be sure of anything anymore. His head felt light from bloodloss, and the adrenaline which had been keeping him going during the fight was fading fast. "Orochimaru; help me carry him to Akasuna's room."

"Yes sir." He felt another pair of hands on him, and suddenly the deck wasn't underneath him. Deidara's vision was a blur, and there seemed to be a soft voice lulling him to sleep…A familiar voice in his head…

_All men still shall this day die;_

_Like doves to pearly gates they fly._

_This one, that one; bring about them all,_

_Or to deep depths of hell they'll fall._

Konan's poem sounded light within his head, and it felt as if the fallen angel were whispering it in his ear. He felt himself being placed onto something that was soft and familiar, but he couldn't comprehend that it was the doctor's bed. He looked up at the ceiling, his vision blurred. Deidara could almost see the angel floating there, just out of reach, a soft smile on her face.

_Happy bullet, inside thy chest doth go._

_Oh, for the angels, what a sweet show…_

Humanity amused her – she already knew everything. For an angel, time meant nothing. She had already seen the future, and she had told him how his story ended…

His head was light, and his consciousness wavered. He heard the sound of rushed footsteps, and a bang as someone opened the door far too forcefully…Deidara couldn't remain conscious any longer.

The world turned black…

_Death may be closer than one wishes so…_

So that was what Konan meant…Soon…

Soon…Very soon…

Deidara was going to die…

…

…But not just yet.


	14. The Red Sand Scorpion

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Fourteen

The Red Sand Scorpion

Deidara awoke slowly, staring at the ceiling above with a dazed expression. Where was he…? The blonde tried to gather his thoughts, but the last thing he could remember was some strange poem…Death may be closer than one wishes so…

Everything suddenly snapped inside the blonde's head and the memories of yesterday returned. He quickly sat up, frantically looking around the room, before he slowly calmed down as it registered that he was in Sasori's room…He could faintly recall being carried there by Orochimaru and Sasuke just before he passed out…

"Oh hell," he gave a sneer, "I passed out because of a fucking scratch!" He scowled and looked to his arm, noticing for the first time that he wasn't wearing a shirt. A white cloth was tied tightly around his arm where the cut was, and Deidara couldn't help but pout. Why hadn't Sasori just healed him? "I'm such a fucking wimp…"

He jumped slightly once he heard the door open, and he looked to see the red head entering the room. Sasori looked at him slowly, before the door closed behind him, far too nonchalantly. "So you're finally awake, Brat?" The older male walked over to the bed, taking a seat on the sheets with a sigh, "How are you feeling?"

"I feel like shit, un…" He grimaced, but this expression faded once Sasori's palm cupped his cheek, "…"

The red head was still for a few moments before giving a pleased hum, "Your fever has come down significantly." Sasori stood up and moved over to his desk, opening up one of the drawers. He pulled out a bottle which was filled with a clear liquid, Deidara quickly realising that it was water. "I've decided that I will help heal your wound over a period of time, rather than just completely; with a wound so serious and well known by the crew, they would get too suspicious over its sudden disappearance." He sat back down on the bed, handing the blonde the bottle, "Here; your body is highly dehydrated."

Deidara nodded and took the water, pulling the cork off with little trouble, "Thank you, un." He brought it to his mouth and began to eagerly drink, having not even realised just how thirsty he was. After a minute he had downed half the bottle, giving a sigh as he pulled it away from his mouth, "How long was I unconscious?"

"Three days." Deidara stared at him in shock, "Sakura was mortified when she came back to the ship. She demanded that you be woken up and put to work on cleaning up the mess. But, strangely, Orochimaru and Kabuto backed up my argument, agreeing to clean it up themselves…And, of course, with Konan's help." He smirked at the blonde, putting the cork back on the bottle, "I don't know what you did, but I think that you've managed to convert those two thugs into your allies…"

Deidara stared in awe for a few moments before looking away, giving a frown, "They were struggling in their fight…I was tempted to let them die, but…"

"But you saw them as being more valuable alive than being dead." Sasori gave a shrug, "And it seems your instincts were right. It would be one thing for them to argue with Sasuke, but Sakura is the one who pays them. She was just as shocked as the rest of us were." Deidara gave a smirk at the mental image of Sakura being stupefied, giving a chuckle. "I tried to come and help…" The red head gave a pained expression as he put the bottle away back into the drawer, "But Konan would not let me…"

"It's fine, un." Deidara gave a shrug, "At least she was benevolent enough to send Orochi and Kabuto to aid us." The blonde gave a sigh, "Without them, I don't think Sasuke and I would still be alive today…" He suddenly flinched in shock, quickly looking up, "Sasuke is still alive, right?"

"Relax," Sasori sat down on the bed, placing an encouraging hand on the boy's shoulder; "Everyone else is fine". His face was still its usual stoic sheet, and Deidara eyed him critically.

"So then…" He gave a sudden smirk at the red head, "Is defending the ship against a horde of evil pirates courageous enough to win your damn 'affections' or should I just go wrestle a Kraken?"

Sasori gave the blonde an unimpressed expression, before hitting him lightly upside the head, "You idiot. Do you realise how worried I was? As soon as Konan let me go, I ran all the way to the ship, bumping into Kabuto on the way. He told me that you had been badly injured!" Sasori bared his teeth at the blonde in frustration, "I nearly had a fucking heart attack when I heard that! I thought you'd gone and taken a sword through the head! I mean, what else was I-"

The red head was cut off when the blonde suddenly pressed their lips together, wrapping his arms around the male's neck. Sasori was still for a few moments, before he quickly took control of the kiss. He wrapped his arms around the wounded blonde's waist, his gloved hands running over soft skin.

Deidara gave a soft moan, and tugged lightly on the red head, pulling him down onto the mattress. Sasori didn't put up any resistance, ravaging the blonde's mouth sensually and roughly.

They were suddenly disrupted by the sound of knocking at the door to Sasori's cabin, and the red head pulled away from Deidara with record speed, on his feet before the knock even registered in the blonde's mind. Sasori gave a soft cough, standing for a few moments with a slightly pained expression before he moved over to the door, resuming his usual stoic façade. Deidara sat up slowly and gave a sigh, flinching at the ache of his wound.

Sasori opened the door, finding several figures waiting eagerly, "Is he awake yet?" The blond boy looked past the red head, noticing the other blonde sitting in the bed, "Deidara!" Naruto gave a wide grin and pushed past Sasori, the red head giving an irritated expression at the audacity before he willingly stepped aside for the other guests.

Naruto had arrived with Sasuke, Orochimaru and Kabuto, the others looking no different than usual, although Sasori was able to notice a look of relief in their eyes. They all seemed to ignore the red head altogether, moving over to the bed where Deidara sat. Orochimaru gave a smirk and patted the blonde on the back, "That was some fine swordsman skills back there, Blondie. Who knew that you of all people turned out to be one of the best swordsman on this ship?"

Sasori gave a bitter smirk that went unnoticed by the others. Please, the two greatest swordsman on this ship were he and Konan. If they were ever to face the red head's poisoned blades or the bluenette's one thousand paper swords, they would be too embarrassed to ever even look at any other person wielding a sword ever again.

Kabuto gave Deidara a respectable smile, adjusting his glasses habitually, "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Back at home," the blonde quickly made up a lie, "I used to watch the guards whenever they were practising or on-duty. Other than a few swings of a stick, I've really had no practise…"

Everyone except for Sasuke and Sasori stared at the blonde in awe. There was little that went on around the ship that the Uchiha wasn't aware of, and he had a sense for well-founded suspicion. He was already aware of Deidara's training with the red head. Of course this was nothing that could be used to blackmail Sasori, but it did cause the Uchiha to worry.

If Deidara had managed to survive that skirmish with only a few lessons, then Sasuke had a right to be concerned about the skills of his teacher.

As if reading his mind, the co-captain turned his head to give Sasori a weary and suspicious glance. The red head couldn't help but give a devious smirk in return. It was as if he were saying to the younger male that his bite was far more poisonous than his bark.

They continued to watch one another for a few moments until Sasuke finally spoke, "So Doctor," his voice was full of withheld malice, "how long until your patient can return to work?"

Sasori's smirk fell as the others turned to look at him, and he gave a nonchalant shrug, "He will be fine to return to work tomorrow, but I'll need to check up on the wound periodically to be sure that it doesn't become infected."

Sasuke continued to give him the smouldering glare, "He seems perfectly fine now…"

Orochimaru and Kabuto blinked in surprise at the Uchiha's words, and Naruto grabbed his arm, "Sasuke; Sasori is the doctor here. I don't see any reason as to why Deidara can't have one more day to rest." The other two quickly agreed with the blond, feeling deeply indebt to the boy who had saved their lives.

"Of course," Sasori leaned against one of the many bookcases, shrugging his shoulders slowly, "I can't keep him in unless I have permission from at least two of the three captains…"

Sasuke glared at him for a few moments longer before turning his head. The Uchiha risked a look at Naruto, and Sasori followed his gaze, blinking in surprise at what he saw…

That look that Naruto was giving him…That look that held only love and worry…

Sasori stared in shock, feeling a stab of guilt in his chest. It seemed that not only was Sasuke unaware of his opponent, but Sasori was forgetting his own.

He looked to the Uchiha to see that there was no smile to be found - but there was still that look in his eyes. That look of calm that said 'I would do anything to protect you'…

Sasori was a threat to that love and Sasuke was more than eager to get rid of him. Ever since Deidara had stepped foot onboard the Lightening Queen, Sasuke had known that this was the perfect opportunity to trap the red head. He was prepared to make both the red head and the blonde walk the plank in order to save his own lover…

But things had changed under the recent circumstances…Sasori could tell…Although he was unsure of what they had altered to…

Sasuke looked to Deidara, giving a sigh of willing defeat, "Fine…But I expect you to return to work tomorrow; and no slacking off. Konan already does enough of that for the two of you…" He straightened up and turned, shooting one last glare at the red head, although this was only half hearted, "I will go alert the captain on Deidara's progress. Farewell…" He suddenly stopped just before he exited, although he didn't look back, "…Actually…I would like to speak with Akasuna in private."

The others blinked in surprise, but Sasori just straightened up without even batting an eyelash, "Very well, captain. If that is your wish then I am happy to comply." Sasuke gave a slow bitter nod before exiting the room, the red head throwing the wounded blonde a quick amused expression before he followed behind the Uchiha, "You should alert Sakura first," Sasori gave a slow shrug, "I will be waiting here for your return."

Sasuke didn't even acknowledge the wanted criminal as he went up the last staircase, the red head waiting at Sasuke's door. A few minutes went by and finally the Uchiha came back down, still not looking at Sasori.

He opened the door and walked inside, Sasori following calmly behind him, standing in front of the Uchiha's desk while the younger male sat down. "You really do worry too much," Sasori gave him a fine smirk, "I really have nothing against Naruto. I'd love to see you walk the plank, but if he were to follow you…Well, that would just be a sad day indeed."

Sasuke gave a sigh and pulled his blue captain's jacket off, hanging it on the back of his chair, "It seems we are on a similar thought process, Akasuna." He placed his elbows on the desk and his hands under his chin, "I would like to see you walk the plank all the damn day. But after recent events…I too would be pained to see that blonde of _yours_ walking it also."

"But it seems that even if only one was to walk, the other would still be wounded greatly." Sasori gave a shrug, "Either two die, or one dies and the other is left wishing they were dead…At least," he gave a smirk, "it seems that Naruto would be the type to be _that_ broken if he saw you die."

"…Perhaps…" Sasuke leaned back in his seat, watching him slowly, "And Deidara?"

"Oh," he gave a chuckle, "I think that if I were to walk the plank, he would jump into the ocean right after me. But what do I know? You're the captain, after all; you know everything."

"Everything…" His eyes narrowed, "Except your true identity…I know that you and Konan are not to be trusted; I've known that since you first stepped foot aboard my ship. And I am still trying to determine my own stance concerning Deidara…"

"I don't understand the founding of this suspicion, in all honesty." Sasori gave a sigh and ran a hand through his unkempt red hair, "I'm just a lowly man who works as a navigator and a doctor to get by. I honestly do not see why you find me so suspicious…"

"I know that my feelings are well founded." He spoke with a bitter bite, glaring at the red head, "So you'd be best to tell me exactly who you are…Or else I'll have no problems in getting rid of that boy of yours."

"…" Sasori gave a sudden smirk, a mysterious glint in his copper eyes, "You're so much like Itachi…"

Sasuke straightened up quicker than a lightning bolt, his eyes wide and his body suddenly rigid. "Itachi? You know Itachi?"

"Of course I know Itachi," Sasori gave a shrug, still smirking, "but isn't that the kind of information you wanted to hear? I could even call the Fire Breather…A friend of mine…"

Sasuke continued to stare at him in utter shock, everything suddenly clicking into place inside his brain. The lack of wounds on those dead bodies…The blonde's lack of scars…Deidara's sudden proficiency with a sword…The Fire Breather… The suspicion… "Akatsuki…"

"Yes, that is correct." Sasori leaned over the desk, his still smirking face only a few centimetres from Sasuke's, "…Now then…Tell me who I am…I want to hear you say it…"

"…" That look of burning hatred in Sasuke's eyes had become mingled with an equally burning fear. Anyone would be right to fear any of the Akatsuki, and only now had he realised that he had been living with two for the past two years…Only now did he see that he had been playing mind games with one of the most fearsome pirates to have ever sailed the seven seas…And Sasuke had just lost. "You're the Red Sand Scorpion…"

Sasori's voice dropped to a whisper, enjoying himself far too much in the current situation, "…Bingo…"

**(Reviews are appreciated~!)**


	15. Lightning Rod

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Fifteen

Lightning Rod

He straightened up, smirk finally falling, "Now then; unless you wish to see your entire ship destroyed, along with your lover, I would keep that information close to your heart and away from the ears of others. Akatsuki has no interest in harming anyone onboard, and we plan on departing soon…The three of us."

"…So that's your game…" Sasuke seemed suddenly winded, as if he had just been punched in the gut, "…" The Uchiha was at a loss for words, and Sasori found it quite amusing.

"You're smart enough to understand the situation…At least, I gather that you are." Sasori straightened up his back completely and altered his posture into a stance of power. "I am the Red Sand Scorpion; member of the infamous Akatsuki and a feared figure across the seas. And you should have already figured out Konan's true identity…" Sasori turned to look behind him, "Isn't that right, Angel of White?"

From the shadows of the room, a third figure stepped forward. Konan no longer wore her usual attire – she now wore a flowing white dress, with her dark blue hair reaching her waist. A single paper rose was tied up in her locks, adding to her beauty. "That is correct." Her voice had changed also; rather than the rough casual tone, she now sounded far more melodic, effeminate and…Angelic.

Sasuke continued to stare in absolute shock, looking down for a few moments before returning their gazes. He had managed to regain his intelligence, although that mingled look of fear still burnt brightly in his onyx eyes. "What is it that you want with my ship?"

"Nothing," Konan leaned against the desk elegantly, "the only reason we boarded this vessel was in an attempt to find someone…Someone who had been lost to the Akatsuki for many years…"

"…Deidara…" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at them, and Sasori gave a slow nod, his wide smirk returning. It felt good to show their true colours after all this time.

"That's right. We were looking for Deidara," Sasori felt his heart beating faster than it had in a long while. He loved this game. "And now that we have found him, we will be leaving."

"We can't leave just yet, however." Both males turned to the female, who had closed her harsh amber eyes in a thoughtful – yet solemn – expression. "Soon, but not yet…"

Sasori watched her slowly and while his attention was on the angel, Sasuke finally snapped. He gave a cry and swung his bare fist forward, moving to punch Sasori in the face. A second before impact, the male suddenly found his arm still…

A wall of paper now blocked the path between his fist and Sasori's face…Sasuke's eyes widened further once the blade positioned at his throat registered in his mind. Sasori was still smirking and Konan had one eye open, watching the captain with that look which expressed how little a threat he was. "Now now, Lightning Rod," Sasori gave a sadistic chuckle, "you're forgetting who I am _already_. Haven't you heard the tales?"

Sasori pulled the small poisoned knife back into the hidden compartment in his sleeve, before he pulled one of his gloves off. He moved his bare hand forward, as if to brush Sasuke's cheek, but he stopped a mere centimetre away from flesh. An obvious shudder ran up the young male's body, "…Poison…"

"That's right," Sasori continued to give his cunning smirk, "Anyone who even touches my skin dies a horrible death. You can go ahead and test whether it is real or not, but I assure you that it is the truth." The red head moved his hand in an open gesture, as if waiting to shake hands with the Uchiha.

Sasuke continued to stare, before he pulled his hand away from where it had been blocked. The paper dispersed into the air, retreating back to the angel, combining to help form the mass of her body. The Uchiha stood still, staring at the offered hand, but clearly too troubled to test whether the legends were true. It wasn't worth his life.

"Smart boy." A sudden burst of fire surrounded the male's outstretched hand, the Uchiha falling back into his seat in surprise. The flames disappeared a few moments later and the red head gave an amused chuckle. Sasori pulled his hand back leisurely and pulled the glove back on, "Now I need you to listen closely, and I need you to listen well. We're only going to remain for a short time longer, and in that time you are not to tell anyone of our identities. After we're gone, then you may go ahead and tell; it's really not of our concern…And you are to stay away from Deidara as much as possible; if anything more happens to him than what has already occurred…" The mental image of Deidara bloody and dying on the deck on his first night onboard flashed in Sasori's mind, and his smirk immediately fell, "…Or if you speak of our secret, then not only is your entire ship and crew going to be sunk to the bottom of the ocean…" Sasori's copper eyes narrowed, "…I'll also slit Naruto's throat right before your eyes…"

Sasuke was glaring by this point in time, and Sasori guessed that it must have taken a lot of self control to remain so silently accepting. As if on cue, a flash of lightning lit up the room through the glass window to the left - despite the lack of storm clouds - and Sasori couldn't help but smirk once more. "…Fine…" Sasuke looked away from them in clear defeat, seeming suddenly tired, "…I won't tell a soul…You can do whatever you want to my ship…To my crew…To _me_…Just as long as you leave Naruto alone…Please…"

Sasori's smirk slowly dimmed, and his stoic expression had gradually returned after his sudden seizure of emotion… "You have my word."

The Uchiha gave an ironic chuckle, still refusing to look at them, "…For a villain like you, I don't really see much value in that." Clouds were beginning to gather in the darkening sky.

"That is fine," Konan straightened up off the desk, her dress swaying slightly along the floorboards, "but our word is all that we may offer."

"…" Sasuke looked up at them with critical eyes, "…Then your word is all that I shall take…" He looked away from them, seeming older than he had been just an hour ago, "Now please…Leave me so that I may gather my wits again…I don't want to be seen in this state…"

Konan gave a nod, as did Sasori. She began to walk off, slowly disappearing as she gracefully stepped, until the Angel of White had vanished. Back to her disguise, back to her emotions, back to her work…For now anyway.

Sasori's heart was still racing, and he felt grander than he had felt for a long while. He knew now what he was going to do. "Please refrain from acting different around us, as difficult as that may seem." There was the flash of another lightning bolt in the distance, but Sasori didn't need to see it to know of the Uchiha's inner turmoil. "Keep working on that trick, Lightning Rod." Sasori gave him an honest smirk, "Your brother worked on his own element, and look where he is now. If you managed to harness your lightning powers, you could become an even greater name than he."

"…I don't want to be greater than him…I don't want to be greater than any of you villains…" Sasuke looked at him with that same old hatred, "I don't want to be anything _like_ you…"

"…" Sasori look away from the Uchiha, a solemn smirk on his face, "Being in the Akatsuki is never a choice; it wasn't for myself, and it wasn't for Itachi…Perhaps one day you'll understand." He looked back at the younger male, tilting his head subtly, "After all…If Itachi had never done what he had…You would have never met Naruto at the orphanage."

Sasori now understood what Pein had promised Itachi all those years ago…The true happiness that he had promised for Sasuke…It was Naruto Uzumaki.

Sasuke looked away, his expression a mix of turmoil and defeat, "Leave me be…"

The red head watched him for a few moments longer before giving a nod, "Very well, Captain; if that is what you desire." He turned around, but spoke one last thought before moving to the door. "Without the Akatsuki you would have never met Naruto…And I would have never met Deidara…So we can't be that bad…Can we?" It was more so a thought to himself; a reflection on a question he had been asking for years…

"…" Sasuke had nothing more to say, but Sasori could see one last lightning bolt – closer than all the others, and the boat rocked as the sudden storm began to strike.

"As the ship's doctor, I recommend you take the rest of the day off…You're looking quite pale." There was silence and Sasori decided that he would leave the poor boy to his thoughts. He walked to the door and exited without another word, shutting it tightly behind him.

Sasuke watched him leave, feeling the mass of emotions he had been struggling to contain suddenly burst. Sadness was immediately leaking from his eyes, and before he knew it, he became a wreck of emotion and tears.

-x-

Sasori felt the rain on his face, his heart still beating far too fast. The crew was out on deck, running around to help steer the ship in the sudden storm which had appeared almost out of no-where. The kid had impressive raw power; but perhaps it was for the best that he never learnt how to control it.

The red head spied Naruto on deck, and he wondered if the boy even realised just how much the Uchiha loved him – how much he would give up for the blond. He looked around, also spying Orochimaru and Kabuto at work…With the storm, everyone would be too busy to care for his whereabouts.

He walked over to the door of his cabin, opening it after a few moments. Deidara had been trying to get some rest, but he sat up at the sight of the red head, "What did Sasuke want?"

Sasori was quiet as he closed the door and pulled off his coat, hanging it up on a hook positioned on the wall. His hat followed after, and Deidara watched him curiously. "He wasn't really clear about what he wanted." The blonde's single eye widened as the red head began to undo the buttons of his blouse, "But I won't make the same mistake." Sasori gave a smirk, "I'm sure of what I want…"

Deidara watched as Sasori's blouse fell to the ground, a shudder running up his body. "And, Danna…What is it that you want?"

Sasori's heartbeat was still racing in his chest, and he didn't want to slow that feeling of rich life. But his voice was once again silent as he paced forward to the bed, pulling the covers back so that he could crawl under them himself. He captured Deidara's lips in a rough kiss, and the blonde immediately pressed back, wrapping his arms around the red head's neck.

He pulled the older male down, and just as before he did not put up any resistance. Sasori ran his gloved hands down the male's chest, Deidara shuddering in response before he opened his mouth. The red head immediately pushed his tongue inside, pinching one of his nipples with his gloved fingers.

The blonde arched his body into the touch, breaking away from the kiss so that he could catch his breath, "This is really happening, un?" He smirked up at the red head, an eager shine in his remaining azure eye. In response, Sasori just pinched the soft pink bud harder, Deidara hissing in desirable pain…Definitely real…

A few moments past, and their mouths were once again clashing. Deidara took hold of the red head's hands and pulled off the gloves in encouragement, dropping them off the side of the bed. The kiss ended and Sasori looked to where the material had fallen for a few moments before returning his gaze to the blonde. He brought his gloveless hand forward to gently caress the boy's cheek, enjoying the rare feeling of skin.

Deidara brought his own hand to also cup the side of the red head's face, the palm's mouth giving the skin a soft kiss. "…" Sasori smirked at the blonde and sat up, beginning to undo the golden buckle of his own belt, "You'll have to keep your voice down, Brat. We don't wish to capture any unwanted attention."

"Yes Doctor," Deidara gave a chuckle and watched as Sasori undid the belt and then his pants. The two articles of clothing were soon on the floor, leaving the red head only in his linen underwear. Sasori's hands moved down to undo the blonde's own belt and pants, the clothes soon joining the rest of the material on the decking.

The red head rubbed their clothed hips together, and Deidara gave a gasp of pleasure. Sasori repeated the action, smirking slyly at the blonde underneath him. The boy's face was flushed and lustful, his eye closed tightly. "My Brat, we've barely begun and you've already lost your mind."

Deidara looked up at the red head, panting slowly, "Say what you want…Danna; we all know who the virgin is here, un…" Sasori pursed his lips, but he had nothing to say in response, "I thought you hated waiting."

The red head rolled his eyes and decided to hurry up, pulling the blonde's linen underwear off, followed by his own. He brought his hand to Deidara's mouth, tapping his lips lightly, "Suck." Deidara brought three of the male's fingers into his mouth, wrapping his tongue around them slowly.

The red head's skin tasted odd, and he guessed that it was because of the poison that coated the man's flesh. It was harmless to the blonde and to the rest of the Akatsuki due to the antidote injection, but deadly to all others. It tasted strange on Deidara's tongue, but not entirely unpleasant…

Sasori pulled his digits from the blonde's mouth and the next thing Deidara knew, they were prodding at his entrance. The red head immediately pushed two inside, the younger male's body immediately turning rigid, "Does it hurt?"

"Not really, un…" He squirmed slightly and gave the red head a lusty look, "It just feels strange." Sasori watched him for a few more moments before giving a nod, scissoring his fingers roughly. Deidara tried to relax, but it was difficult to do so after his last sexual encounter…

He gave a gasp as the red head inserted his third finger, a shudder running up his body. Sasori remained silent as he began to slide his fingers in and out of the boy's entrance, stretching him for the events to come. After at least a minute, Deidara had stopped giving pained noises, simply panting with a burning desire. Sasori removed his fingers, and the blonde gave a soft sigh, wrapping his legs around the older male's waist.

"Danna…" The red head gave a nod, wrapping his arms around the blonde's thin body. He positioned his hard length at the boy's prepared entrance, and Deidara grasped the male's back in expectation. Sasori began to push in, the blonde giving a low moan of pain mixed with little pleasure. The red head didn't slow or stop, moving until he was completely sheathed inside of Deidara.

He could feel both of their racing heartbeats, and he tried to focus on that rather than the feeling of the blonde's hot walls constricting around him. Deidara was slowly relaxing, growing used to the feeling of the red head inside of him. His body was beginning to register that this time was much different than the last time…

"Danna~" Deidara gave him a look full of desire, "Please move…" Sasori gave a quick nod before he began to pull out at a slow pace, thrusting in slightly faster. At the lack of any pained exclamations, the red head took it up a pace, pulling out quicker before thrusting in harder. Deidara gave a moan of pain and pleasure, his nails digging into the male's back.

Sasori picked up his pace, pulling out and thrusting in faster and harder than each previous movement. Deidara was obviously struggling to keep his voice down, giving soft moans and muffled cries. Their lips met once more, and they kissed desperately while the red head continued to thrust inside of the younger male.

A sudden rush of pleasure shot through the blonde's body, and he gave a high pitched moan into the red head's mouth, arching his back in bliss. Sasori pulled away from Deidara's lips, giving him a satisfied smirk, "There you are~" He aimed for that location and gave another thrust forward, hitting the blonde's prostate gland once again.

Deidara gave another moan, digging his nails in the male's warm back. This barely registered in Sasori's minds, despite his years of training in offence and defence, continuing to strike the boy's sweet spot continuously. The blonde could feel himself coming close to his much anticipated climax, putting great effort towards keeping his voice low. Sasori's had slid his hand down to Deidara's length, beginning to pump him in time with his thrusts.

The blonde stifled a cry and smashed their lips together, holding the red head with an iron grip. Both were on the verge of climax, and Sasori sped up his actions, not wishing to finish first. Thankfully, Deidara gave a cry into his mouth, successfully muffling the sound as he finally released over their chests. The hot walls tightened around Sasori's length, and his entire body shuddered as he too released, Deidara giving a low moan at the feeling of being filled up.

They were still for at least a minute, catching their breaths slowly but gradually. Sasori turned his head slightly to gaze out the window, noticing that the storm was still raging outside. He looked back at the blonde, who was giving him a seductive smirk between pants, "…So then, do I…Get a round two, un?"

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	16. Betrayal

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Sixteen

Betrayal

The storm hadn't ended until late that afternoon, and by then the crew were far too exhausted to worry about the blonde who had woken up after several days. During the storm, Naruto had grown worried about Sasuke and had found him in a bout of inner turmoil. The Uzumaki had spent a long hour comforting him, although the male had refused to admit why he was so shattered.

However, with the help of Naruto, the Uchiha had managed to reach a state of normalcy with his emotions. In a strange turn of events, when Sasuke had finally reached a state of calm the storm had also miraculously cooled.

In the room just next door, Sasori and Deidara still lay in the bed together. The blonde had his back pressed against the red head's chest, while Sasori had his arms wrapped around the younger male. The Red Sand Scorpion was disappointed by his heartbeat, which had slowed down by this point in time, but he was still satisfied with the change in the pace of that day.

After the last two years of acting docile and benign, it was a welcomed change.

"I haven't asked about this before, but…" The blonde was watching the door slowly, giving a slow yawn, "What would the reaction of Akatsuki be towards us, or whatever we are, un?"

Sasori gave a shrug; it was a fair enough question to ask, "Our Leader is a demon from the dark pits of hell." He smirked humourlessly and shook his head slowly, "He couldn't give a flying fuck about our sexual orientation…As long as it does not interfere with our work, of course."

Deidara gave a snicker, shooting Sasori a tired grin over his shoulder, "Well then Danna…What do_ you_ think?"

The red head gave him a quizzical expression and a questioning hum, "What do I think about what?"

"About us, un." Deidara turned his head back, nuzzling his face into the soft pillow of the doctor's bed, "About this…"

Sasori gave a frown and he remembered what Konan had told him about their story… "I don't know…" His face was morphed into a pained expression and his grip on the blonde tightened very subtly, "…"

Deidara yawned once again and turned around, burying his head in the crook of the red head's neck. "Well here we are; so you certainly can't think anything bad about us, un."

Sasori's face lit with an ironic smirk, recalling the feeling of his racing heartbeat. Had that been the sole reason for what he had just done? In the effort to keep hold of that rare spark of excitement? Certainly it was more than that…He gave a sigh and the smirk dropped, "Certainly I can still think bad of us, but that's understandable in the situation. I mean, if we're found out-"

He was interrupted by a sudden knock at the door, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop. A few silent moments flew by, although they seemed like minutes. There was nothing that they could do but hold their breaths as the door was opened…

"Good evening~" They both looked to the door, relief sweeping through their bodies once they realised that it was Konan…She blinked at them in surprise, before giving a smirk, "You guys got together sooner than I expected." She shrugged and shut the door behind her using her foot, the dinners of the two males in her hands. The bluenette placed the plates on the table, wiping away some blood which was leaking from her nose.

Sasori gave a sigh and crawled over the blonde so that he could stand up, beginning to search the floor for his clothes. Deidara watched him for a few moments before turning to look at Konan, "Any casualties?"

"Nearly," she grinned at the blonde who was still sitting in the bed, "Akamaru fell overboard, but Kiba jumped in after the puppy and managed to rescue him." She looked over at Sasori, who was busy pulling on his pants, "It was quite a storm, Red."

"I can imagine." Sasori tossed the blonde his trousers, and Deidara pouted before getting to his feet, also beginning to get dressed. "But we don't want Leader to become interested in the Lightning Rod; he would not be a…Pleasant member to have around."

"I agree with that," she gave a chuckle and tapped her foot lightly, "well I'll leave you two to it. Don't forget, Red," she looked at Sasori slowly for a few moments, "the sharks are circling…" There was a short silence before she grinned once again, waving as she moved over to the door, "Have fun!" The bluenette exited the room, the door slamming behind her far too casually, and both pirates looked at each other.

"Sharks, un?" The blonde finished pulling on his pants and began to hunt down his shirt, while Sasori was busy pulling his gloves back on. "What does she mean by that?"

"She's just reminding me of Kisame," he gave a shrug and moved over to his desk, examining their dinner, "I still need to give him several doubloons each night…Sort of a payment for being on this ship, except I steal it from the treasure-stock of the Lightning Queen." Deidara gave a nod, guessing that that was the reason he had often met Sasori out on deck at night.

"Well you don't want to forget that I guess, un…" He blinked at the food, realising just how utterly starved he was. "Even Tomato's cooking looks good…"

"You really have to stop calling Yamato that," Sasori gave him a bored glance, before pushing his own serving towards the blonde, "I'm not hungry; you can have mine as well."

-x-

Sasori was careful not to wake Deidara up as he got to his feet, stretching his arms. His body alarm told him that it was around the time of midnight, and just like every other night he had a job to do. He opened up one of the drawers of his desk, picking up one of the several bags which he had already filled with golden doubloons when he had last ventured into the treasure room.

He picked it up and attached it to his belt, exiting the room as quietly as possible. Sasori closed the door behind him and began pacing to the front of the ship, but he stopped once he noticed the lone figure watching the ocean. "It's not like you to join me."

Konan turned at the voice, giving him a soft solemn smile, "I know, but there is something you're yearning to ask me…Isn't there?" She turned back to the ocean, giving a soft chuckle, "You've forgotten your lantern, Sasori."

He blinked in surprise, a soft flush forming on his cheeks at his negligence. "I don't even need a lantern…" Sasori looked away from her as he pulled off his glove, a flame forming on his bare hand for a few moments before disappearing to inform Kisame below of his identity.

On cue, the shark raised his head out of the water, beady eyes staring up at him with that usual wide grin that was in place whether the Akatsuki member was a shark or a human. Sasori pulled his glove back on and began the usual task of dropping coins for Kisame to gather, Konan simply watching him silently.

-x-

Once the coins stopped falling, the shark disappeared beneath the waves which had been so violent but a few hours ago. Sasori turned to Konan as he moved the empty coin pouch back onto his belt, "Very well then, I do have a question for you…" He straightened up slowly, locking eyes with the angel harshly, "What port are we getting off at…And when will we be leaving?"

She gave a shrug and a smirk, "Silly boy; we're not getting off at any port." The girl gave a wistful expression and her grin dimmed ever so subtly, "But we will be leaving soon…Very soon…" Sasori was giving her a confused expression, and she couldn't help but giggle, "I'll tell you how we're getting off? We're going overboard~" She gestured to the ocean below, "You and Blondie are going to walk the plank."

Sasori continued to stare at her as if she were insane, before he gave a soft sigh. He should have guessed… His gaze turned towards the water, the moonlight shining off the ocean ever so glamorously, with a thousand stars filling the night sky above. "Well…You've already told me that we have a sad ending, so I guess there will be no issue in telling exactly what happens…"

"Well if you must know," she gave an exaggerated sigh, "but you're really taking all the fun out of it!" Sasori glared at her slowly for a few moments and she rolled her eyes childishly, "Fine." The bluenette leaned against the railing and began to inspect her nails as she spoke of the future events, as if they made her bored. "We get attacked by pirates soon, and in the midst of it all, the crew find out that you and Deidara are together. The two of you are forced to walk the plank, and of course Kisame rears his head, which causes the crew to expect blood. However, he chews through your bindings and releases both of you. All seems fine and dandy, until suddenly…" She smirked and looked at the red head, making a cocking gun gesture with her hand, "Bang. Deidara gets shot, we escape with Kisame's help, you try to heal Deidara but of course you don't have even close to enough power to re-start a heartbeat. He remains dead, we return to Akatsuki, you never truly get over it and you never find anyone else to replace him. You die in five years time when you are surrounded by a group of ten pirates alone and get stabbed right through the heart from behind." She gave a shrug and a sigh as she slowly grinned once more, "Sad. Ending…For you at least," the bluenette gave a shrug, "but it ends well for Sasuke and Naruto…So that's something."

Sasori was silent as the story sunk into his mind, and he found he could no longer look at Konan, "…Who shoots him? Orochimaru? Kabuto? Sakura?" He was quiet for a few moments more, his eyes narrowing, "…Sasuke?"

"Now now," she grinned at him with a look of amusement, "I can't tell you that. As an angel, it is forbidden to change the future through killing someone or by saving someone else. If I tell you who, you would just go and kill them to save your little Blondie, and I can't let you do that, Red."

"…But you're not an angel anymore." She watched him slowly, all expression falling to that same stoic gaze.

"I like to think…" She gazed up at the sky…Or perhaps the sky wasn't what she was yearningly staring at, "…I like to think that I still am…" A small smile curved her lips, and Sasori had absolutely nothing to say. "We are what we are made to be, after all…"

-x-

The next day, Deidara had returned to working with the angel around the ship…Or at least that was what he had expected.

"You know…" The blonde gave the bluenette an unimpressed glare, the female currently relaxing in her hammock, "You're supposed to be working as well."

"Hey now," she was giving a smirk although her eyes were contently shut, "I have been doing all the work for the past few days, not to mention cleaning up the mess that the four of you made. I think that I deserve a break, especially after letting_ you_ take one~"

Deidara's scrubbing hands slowly stilled, and he was looking at her with an expression that was no longer even surprised, but aloofly accepting, "You were the reason I fell unconscious after only receiving a mild injury…"

"Oh, I think that it counts as a serious injury." She gave a shrug and a yawn, "But I thought that since you had been unable to leave the ship after all this time, you deserved some time to sleep…And, of course, to get closer to Sasori." Her smirk had returned although her amber eyes remained closed and content with life.

Deidara watched her for a few moments longer before returning to scrubbing the wooden planks, "I'm going to get shot, and that's going to kill me, un…Am I correct?"

"Well I made that quite obvious," her hammock swung jovially, and the angel was still upbeat, "Anything else you would like to know?"

"…No," he gave a solemn smirk, "I'd rather not know anything else, un." Deidara continued to scrub the deck with too much effort, and Konan opened one eye to watch him for a few moments.

"…Then I have nothing more to say on the subject." She closed her eye once again and returned to relaxing in the hammock, and soon she was asleep. The angel dreamt of her original wings; she was flying high above the ocean with a smile on her face. But in the dream, she flew too close to the sun and her feathers turned to melting wax. As her wings were ripped from her eternal body, she began to fall towards the dark ocean below…

-x-

She awoke from her nightmare with a firm line in place of her mouth. Several hours had ticked by in her unconsciousness, and Deidara was no longer in her presence. The bluenette looked out the porthole window at the ocean which was currently sluggish and calm, a drastic change from what it had offered only yesterday.

Konan watched the water for a few minutes before she jumped out of the hammock, her feet lightly touching the ground as she paced leisurely up to the main deck. Once in the light, she looked around with little interest, her eyes landing on Sasuke.

He was far paler than he was normally, but in grander condition than he had been only yesterday. The Uchiha looked over at Konan, eyes meeting for only a few moments before he hurriedly turned his gaze away. The poor boy was probably filled with questions which he was burning to ask, but he dared not to speak further on the matter.

Konan watched him for a few moments longer before she caught sight of Deidara, talking casually to Orochimaru and Kabuto. There was absolutely nothing threatening in their posture, and they were currently laughing over something. The boy had managed to win over nearly everyone onboard…Everyone except for Sasuke and-

"Just look at them there," Konan turned to her right to see Sakura standing nearby, scowling at the group of three, "I hate that boy…He could probably manage to set my entire crew against me." The pinkette's eyes narrowed as she continued to glare at the blonde, "I wish I had never bought him back in Iwa Port – he might start a mutiny if we don't keep a close eye on him…What do you think, Konan?"

The bluenette blinked at the other female with mild surprise before shrugging her shoulders, "I don't see any problems with him, personally. Or with the fact that he is willing and able to make so many allies; isn't that what anyone in his situation would do?"

Sakura gave a scowl, shaking her head irefully, "I don't care; he still is suspicious in my eyes."

"…" A sly grin curved Konan's lips, "Really now? I bet you would just love to shoot him if you were given the opportunity…"

Sakura blinked at the bluenette in surprise, before she casually stroked the handle of her pistol, "Do not tempt me, boy. I am aware that he is your friend…As well as the friend of everyone else aboard this blasted ship…" She sneered darkly and looked away, "If I were to kill him…That would definitely lead to mutiny."

"Well then," Konan grinned and took a step closer to Sakura, "I can help you come up with a plan to get rid of him…It'll cost that navigator/doctor of yours as well, but would definitely fail to end in mutiny." Sakura stared at the fallen angel, her eyes wide with shock at the willingness of the bluenette in betraying her friends.

A few moments past, and the pinkette suddenly gave a cunning grin, "…I'm listening…"

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	17. Approaching Doom

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Seventeen

Approaching Doom

It had been a week since Deidara had woken up, and things had returned to a state of normalcy onboard the Lightning Queen…Aside from the budding relationship between the ship's doctor and the once lowly blonde street rat. Each night, the blonde would sneak into the red head's room when everyone else was asleep, but would return before they awoke. A few had noticed his comings and goings, but had guessed that he was just getting some fresh air. Now that he had the two thugs on his side, there was absolutely no danger in going on deck after lights out.

Sasori was currently on the upper most deck with Sakura, both discussing their current route. "This is a favourable trading passage for the nearby land of Kirigakure. If we continue along its course, we are bound to find a merchant ship that we can ransack."

"Hmmm…" Sakura looked at the map for a few moments before pointing to another nearby line, "And what about this route?"

"…" The red head blinked in surprise and he quickly gave a disapproving frown, "That isn't a merchant route; that's the patrol course of the Kirigakure navy. If we sail along that, then the only ship we will find is one that will be itching to fight…Not to mention the obvious lack of valuable cargo."

"Oh, but I do love the outfits of the Kirigakure guard. Besides, I'm sure that no ship is without valuable cargo." She grinned and took hold of the steering wheel, "We're setting a course for _that_ route."

Sasori stared at her as if she were insane for several lengthy moments, before he glanced away from her bitterly. The red head rolled up the scroll and begrudgingly nodded his head, "Yes ma'am…That route it is…"

He turned and slowly walked down the stairs, noticing the bluenette chatting with Naruto. "So then I said to him," Konan was giving a wide grin, "that's not my carrot…And then my friend said…That's not my arm!"

They both burst out into intense laughter, and Sasori just stared at them passively until their laughter quietened. "Konan, may I see you in my office for a moment?"

The bluenette wiped away a tear, giving one more giggle, "Yeah yeah; no problem Saso. Have fun Naruto!" She waved at him slightly and turned to the red head, still grinning widely.

Sasori stared at her with his usual stoic expression, giving a nod as he turned and paced towards his cabin door with the bluenette following behind him. He shut the door behind them, standing still for a few moments before shooting Konan the most intense glare he had ever given. "YOU TRAMP!"

His hand flung out and grabbed the angel by the throat, but she quickly turned to paper and evaded his stranglehold. The bluenette reformed a few moments later, sitting in Sasori's chair while leaning her elbows casually on his desk, "Calm down Red."

Sasori stormed forward and banged his gloved hands on the desk, continuing his burning glare. "You told Sakura to take the patrol route! You've doomed him! You've doomed my-" He quickly cut himself off, and Konan raised an eyebrow before giving a sly grin.

"Your _what_?" She leaned back in the seat, "Your little pet? Your toy? Go ahead and tell me about how much he means to you, Red. I know who you really are; you don't care about this boy."

A bead of sweat rolled down Sasori's forehead and his chest was heavily heaving due to his angry breathing. "You're wrong; and you're perfectly aware of that."

"Fine then," she shrugged her shoulders slowly, "your 'Love'. But poor little Blondie was doomed from the start. You're the most impatient person that I know; I assumed you would be grateful for my speeding things up."

Sasori was still glaring, with a new light of realisation in his warm brown eyes, "That is the real reason you are aboard this ship…You didn't come to keep me company; you came to make sure that Deidara bites the bullet!"

Her unchanging amber eyes were steady in their gaze, and her grin was just as unchangeable, "It goes even deeper than that. You see, when an angel reaches their 300th birthday, they are given two options. The first is to stay up there, and the second is to come down to Earth to either spread the good news, to become a prophet or to become a Guardian Angel…"

"And you always told us that you came to spread the good news…" Sasori's glare transitioned into a suspicious gaze, "…"

She shrugged and shook her head, her grin falling. "I might be an angel but I am not bound to the truth…So in any case…I lied." The bluenette leaned forward once again, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. "So then, I shall tell you the truth…I'm a Guardian Angel – or at least I was. To fulfil my purpose, Deidara has to get shot and he has to die."

Sasori's face had paled significantly, and he stared at her with the simple emotion of shock. "But…Well…Whose…?" His mouth felt dry and his mind was blank.

"I'm not your Guardian Angel or Deidara's; I think that that much is obvious." She licked her lips and tilted her hat to one side and then to the other, "In fact he isn't even aboard this ship. In any case, your little lover must die so that I can fulfil my duty…Perhaps then my true wings will be returned to me and I'll be allowed to return home…" Konan looked away from him at last, and she suddenly seemed saddened.

Finally the red head found the ability to form whole sentences, albeit his mouth was still unbearably dry, "You have to face the reality, Konan; you are now a Fallen Angel and Earth has become your new home."

"…" She closed her eyes and her new smile was now subtle, "I really do consider you to be close to my heart, Red. Even Deidara I consider to be a friend…But what has to be done will be done." Their eyes met once again, "We are what we are made to be."

-x-

Deidara was tracing his finger over the marking on the red head's bare chest, while Sasori was staring at the ceiling above. "Are you alright, Danna?" The blonde looked at him with a questioning expression, his hand stilling.

The red head gazed down at him, "Hmmm?" They stared at one another for a few moments before Sasori gave a shrug, "I'm just annoyed…" He swallowed and turned to look back up at the wooden ceiling, "I'm annoyed at Sakura for not listening to me." Well, it wasn't exactly the truth but it wasn't exactly a lie either.

Whose Guardian Angel was Konan? Someone who wasn't aboard the ship, but they must have still been linked to it…It was obvious then. Itachi; Deidara's death would benefit his beloved younger brother Sasuke.

"I know, un. But it's not like there is any other option. I'm going to die and there is no changing that…" He returned to tracing his finger over the marking, sighing very softly, "But still…I can't say that I'm not happy, un."

Sasori gave a deep set frown, "You're happy to die?"

"Well, not really…" His hand stilled again and he lightly nuzzled the older male's chest, "I certainly don't want to live forever…But I'm just happy about this right now, un. I couldn't really imagine a better way to spend my last few days…or weeks, or however long I have left."

Sasori was quiet, not wishing to tell the blonde that it was because of this that he was going to die.

-x-

A few days had passed since their course had been set. The moon was almost full, and Deidara had been onboard the Lightning Queen for almost a month. It seemed like such a long time, yet at the same time not long enough.

The blonde was in the Crow's Nest, gazing at the horizon for the inevitable ship that would soon attack. He heard the sudden flutter of wings and he turned to look behind him.

A raven was perched on the railing, looking at him with small calculating eyes. Deidara watched it for a few moments until he noticed what was on the horizon beyond the bird. His eyes widened and he snapped to attention, scrambling down the ropes hurriedly. "Captain!" Sasuke was the closest of the three ship-owners, and he turned to give the boy a curious yet hesitant gaze, "A navy ship on the horizon – approaching from behind us."

The Uchiha's eyes widened and he gave a silent nod, quickly moving to the upper deck where Sakura stood alone. Deidara quickly moved to the doctor's door, rapidly knocking on it until Sasori opened up. "What is it, Brat?"

"A ship, un." That was all that needed to be said, and Sasori's eyes stared at him reproachfully. After a few moments he gave a nod and moved back inside of the room, picking up their swords before offering one to the blonde.

"Be prepared to fight – these people will be far better trained than those that tried to steal the ship from you and Sasuke." Deidara nodded and took the sword, unsheathing it slowly, "But we'll survive this at least."

"You will survive all of this, un." He grinned slowly at the red head, "And don't worry about me; I had a good teacher." Sasori looked the blonde up and down, his mouth a thin neutral line as it usually was.

The blonde turned and ran off to warn the others of the approaching danger, and Sasori simply stood and watched him disappear. His eyes turned to the sword in his hand, and he examined it. "Looks like I'll be fighting for a change…" He turned and went into the cabin, in search of his hidden poisons.

-x-

Deidara found Orochimaru and Kabuto sitting near the bow of the ship, chatting about nothing of real importance. They looked up at the presence of the blonde, questioning expressions covering their faces, "A ship has been sighted behind us; be prepared."

Their eyes widened in recognition and they quickly scrambled to their feet, not even doubting the blonde for a moment. "Is it a navy vessel?" Deidara gave a solemn nod and they clenched their fists, both giving brave smirks, "Well then, we'll just have to stand and fight. We'll kill any who step onboard this ship and make them rue the day that they were born."

Deidara blinked at them in surprise before he joined in with his own brave grin, clenching his fist in agreement. He had long since forgotten what the two had done to him on his first night on board the Lightning Queen. It was in the past, and the two have proven to be competent allies.

They drew their cutlasses and moved off to warn other crewmates of the fight which would soon dawn, and Deidara knew the only other person who he needed to warn – the one who already knew what was going to happen. He found Konan in her hammock below deck as per usual, the angel's eyes staring solemnly outside her porthole window. "Konan-"

"They're right on schedule." She turned to look at the blonde, giving him a grin, "Are you ready for the fight?" The woman held up her hand and the paper parted in an odd distortion, frenzying in the air for a few moments until forming a new object. A large sword was in the woman's hand, and she leapt out of the hammock. Her feet far too quietly touched the deck and she gave her blade a practise swing, "Finally."

-x-

"Sakura," Sasuke was glaring hard at the woman who was leisurely steering the ship, "this is utter madness! We put it to a vote and we agreed to change our current route – it was two to one! You said that you were going to change our direction!"

Sakura was examining her nails, giving a grin as she did so, "I must have forgotten. So sorry, Sasuke~" She looked up at a sudden blur of black, and a raven fluttered down from the sky to land on the stern railing. Both captains looked at the bird for a few speechless seconds, "Hmmm…That bird always appears at the strangest time."

Sasuke was glaring at the bird, although he didn't understand why he was so bitter towards it. "Skatt," he swung a hand at the raven and it flew up into the air for a few moments before landing on the steering wheel. Both captains stared in absolute shock as the bird made the wheel turn to the right, the ship following the direction. Both were perplexed by the weight of the raven; it took a lot of strength to turn the wheel, and yet the bird was just sitting on it.

Sakura gave a sly smirk while Sasuke quickly lunged for the bird, but it evaded his grasp and flew up to the Crow's Nest. The male tried to turn the ship back, but the damage had already been done. The pursuing navy vessel would be on them in a matter of minutes. Sasuke bit his lip, and Naruto took that moment to come onto the upper deck. "What happened?"

Sasuke turned and stared at his lover, his concern showing on his face. He did not want Naruto to join in the fighting; if the blond were to die then he had no idea what he would do with himself. "A raven turned the steering wheel; we've been delayed and the navy vessel will catch up with the Lightning Queen soon…Too soon…"

Naruto looked at the advancing ship, his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide, "…" He suddenly leapt at the steering wheel and spun it to the right once more, swinging the Lightning Queen towards the approaching ship, "They want a fight, Dattebayo? Let's give them a fight!" He gave a grin and tilted his hat back, "Load up the cannons and prepare the crew!"

Both Sasuke and Sakura stared at the blond in awe, before the Uchiha gave a salute, "Yes sir." He turned and marched down the stairway, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

"HEY!" Sakura glared at the blond, "I'm the captain this year! Back off, Naruto!" The Uzumaki blinked at the girl, and politely stepped aside.

"Of course, Sakura; but please do your job and stop acting so useless." He was grinning at the girl challengingly, "Don't want the crew to mutiny, do we?" Her cheeks flushed with anger but the blond had already followed after Sasuke down the stairs, leaving the captain to her bubbling rage.

She continued to turn the boat until it was facing the approaching vessel, her eyes narrowed, "Oh you'll see Naruto…I'll make it so no one will ever even dare mention the word mutiny again aboard my ship…" She looked over her shoulder at the other blonde figure, the boy she regretted ever purchasing, "Just you wait…"


	18. Caught Out II

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Eighteen

Caught Out

The boats were gaining quickly on one another, both ready for combat. There was no mistaking the Lightning Queen for a normal cargo ship, especially with its flag billowing in the wind. The people of the Kirigakure navy knew that it was a pirate ship without a doubt. However, the captain of the Kiri-ship still made the point of calling out when he was at last in hearing distance. "Greetings! I am the captain of the ship the 'Seventh Sword'!" The name of the vessel was printed boldly on the side, "Be prepared to be boarded!"

Sakura turned to her crew, "No cannons. We can't risk return fire lest the ship be destroyed." There were several nods and swords were drawn if they had not already been, "Captain! We're here to plunder your own ship!" She grinned at the man, holding up her pistol and firing it into the air, "Board if you dare!"

Sasori watched as planks were lowered to connect both ships, the challenge accepted. "We shall take your entire hoard in the name of Kirigakure, pirates!" There was a loud cheer from the navy ship and the red head shook his head slowly. His sword was held in his left hand; he couldn't use his dominant hand or else he would be too suspiciously good.

Deidara stood with a grin on his lips; if he was going to die soon then he'd just have to go out with a bang. If he killed enough people then maybe he wouldn't even end up dying! The first navy officers began to cross the planks, making their way onboard the Lightning Queen. The pirates gave a battle cry and charged into the fight, swords clashing with cutlasses and vice-versa. The sound rung through the air and Sakura drew her pistols, beginning to shoot at some of the navy men who were still crossing the planks. The pirates were at a disadvantage; there were so many navy officers in comparison but they were filled with as much fire and fight.

Deidara was already fighting with two officers, having to dodge the blade of one and then parry the sword of the other. He grinned while fighting, a look of utter success on his face as he finally managed to stab his sword through one and then knock the body into the other, stabbing the second officer while he was knocked to the ground.

Sasori stood looking around with a total of six attacking him. Only six? How weak… Two rushed at him at once and he simply stepped out of the way. The officers instead ran their swords into the other, muffled apologetic cries sounding just before death. Perhaps they'd been friends, perhaps they'd been rivals or perhaps they had never even spoken before – it didn't matter in a fight.

Only one ran at Sasori this time and the Scorpion simply stepped aside again with his sword moving in a quick blur. The other man stood still for a moment before a small burst of blood ran down his cheek due to the minor cut. He stood still for a moment until he gave a blood curdling scream which only lasted for a few moments. The cry ended and he dropped to the ground, his body stilling. "Poison! Don't let his blade touch you!" Sasori looked at them slowly with a very slight smirk appearing on his lips for a simple moment. His sword swung once again in a blur and the men stood far too still. Tatters from their shirts fell to the ground and it was revealed that the three remaining navy officers surrounding the red head had been sliced across their chests. Their screams were loud and in unison, as was the thump that their bodies made when hitting the barely bloodied deck surrounding the red head.

He looked at them indifferently before he gazed around to find the bluenette. Konan was currently parrying another swordsman, her face lit with a grin. She was just toying with the man. It was obvious that he was using all of his strength and speed to block her attacks while she wasn't even breaking a sweat. Sasori shook his head and then turned his gaze towards the shock of blonde hair that was Deidara.

He was currently sword fighting against a single foe, parrying with the expected swipe every few steps. Sasori watched him calmly while remaining stoic - even after the blonde managed to kill the man and took on two more. The red head stepped to the side suddenly to avoid the blade of an attacker who was quickly killed by a swift swing of his sword.

A few drops of blood splayed against his cheek, running down his pale skin slowly. Usually fights excited him and caused his heart to beat ever so fast but this fight was so solemn. Deidara would die after this…Wouldn't he?

He looked again at the blonde who was still fighting for his life, a grin plastered on his expression. The navy officers were thinning in numbers but more were always crossing over the gangplank between. Sakura had long since stopped shooting them, simply staring down at the chaos with that damn smirk of hers. Sasori looked up at her now but she was not gazing at him – her eyes were turned to Deidara. The red head watched with sickened horror as she aimed her pistol…

A shot rang out and he quickly spun around. Deidara stumbled back, collapsing against the central mast of the Lightning Queen.

Sasori quickly ran over to him, stabbing several Kiri-people who also attempted to reach the wounded man. He went down on one knee to Deidara's height, soft brown eyes meeting panicked blue hues, "…Danna…"

The red head looked down to the blonde's wound; he was clutching his side with blood slowly running between his fingers. The blouse was stained crimson in patches by the blood of both Deidara and of his fallen opponents. "It's alright…"

"Is this it, un?" Sasori pulled the blonde's hands away to show the bullet wound in his side. It had not hit any vital organs and a wave of relief swept over the red head. The male pulled off his glove and moved his hand to the bloody wound, pressing his digits against it lightly. A soft glow emanated from his fingers and slowly the blood began to end its flow. Deidara was still in shock…Had that been the wound that was supposed to have ended his life?

Sasori knew otherwise however, so he was absolutely shocked when Deidara suddenly leaned up and kissed him. The red head didn't break the kiss even though he knew that it was exactly what the captain wanted. He heard a gasp to his right and the kiss was immediately broken as they both looked up. Naruto and Sasuke stood over them.

Naruto's eyes were wide and his face was pale while Sasuke was simply solemn as he slowly shook his head. They looked around the ship to see that several members of both crews were staring at them, including Orochimaru and Kabuto. Above the fighting came Sakura's voice cutting through the sky. "Kirigakure Captain, I am an honourable woman and I'm sure that you are the same…" She was smirking over at Sasori and Deidara while she spoke loudly, the two flies caught in her web, "I'm sure that you'd be happy to make a deal – I'm positive that the families of the fallen would prefer to have the bodies returned to them…And the families of those still standing would prefer _not_ to have bodies returned to them."

The Kirigakure captain's face was pale and he looked away with an embarrassed tinge to his cheek, "Yes…I'm sure an agreement can be met."

"Very good…" Her grin widened further, "Orochimaru…Kabuto…Throw those two into the cell; we will deal with them later." The two were hesitant to betray the blonde but they also were unable to betray their captain. "Do it now!"

Sasori stood up slowly, all eyes now on the duo since the fighting had grown futile and unneeded. "There once was a pirate who put out to sea," his soft singing sounded so loud in comparison to the silence, "his mates all around him – no maiden on his knee. Sail for a little, for just a little little. Sail for a little until she finds him. There once was a maiden who wandered the mead, to gather blue violets her mama would need. A wail through the willows, all hollow through the willow willows…A wail through the willows…Until she finds him…"

Several looked away from the tall man and a pained expression came over Deidara's face as he knew that he was to blame. Slowly he stood up with his head held high, "It's fine…Kabuto and Orochimaru…Take us away."

They looked at him soberly before slowly nodding their heads, ashamed. Accepting of their fate, Sasori and Deidara were led below deck without any restraints required and they were locked inside of the cell together. Orochimaru immediately turned and walked away while Kabuto stayed for a few moments longer, "…We're sorry…For everything that has been done to you and for whatever fate is to come…"

Deidara slowly nodded while Sasori just looked away while the grey haired male left them alone. The red head sat down on the hard wooden floor and rested his forehead against the cold bars sorrowfully. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way…" He shook his head, "Konan told me that it was pirates…"

"True," they both looked into the gloom beyond the cell where a white glowing figure now stood, "but that would have been much longer away. I'm very impatient to leave this ship so I figured the sooner the better." Konan stepped forward with her body flickering between the white angelic dress and the scruffy pirate attire. "Navy or pirates; what does it matter? Fate is death and death is fate."

"You betrayed us, un." Deidara bore his teeth at the angel and a flare of emotion ran across her own face.

"Life betrayed _me_." She glared at the blonde until she remembered her place. The emotion was gone and once again her face was angelically stoic. "The captains are deciding your doom now. Sakura would want you to experience the harshest punishment possible but the other two captains disagree…Let's see how it turns out." The girl ran a hand through her soft blue hair and her figure suddenly drifted apart into simple paper pieces.

"…" Deidara sat down next to Sasori while shaking his head hopelessly. He was a sharp contrast to the brave boy he had been but minutes ago. His hope had risen momentarily only to be brutally crushed. "I'm sorry Danna…"

"It would have happened anyway." Sasori gently ran a hand through Deidara's long blonde hair, "Konan would have made sure of it." The younger pirate leaned against the Akatsuki member with his face a blank canvas of expression.

-x-

"They're homosexual," Sakura was leaning far back in her seat while examining her nails. The captains had bribed the Kiri-ship to leave them be and their course had been altered to safer grounds to recuperate. Many of their own crew had been wounded with several casualties and there was much controversy about the ship's doctor being imprisoned when he should have been assessing those badly injured. "I don't see why we are still debating about this? Let's just tar and feather them and be done with it."

She shrugged but Naruto quickly shook his head emphatically, "No. Neither has done wrong to the crew; if it hadn't been for Deidara's help then the Lightning Queen would have been taken back in Konoha…And Sasuke…"

"I'd most likely be dead." Sasuke wasn't looking towards the conniving Sakura or even at his beloved Naruto. His eyes were turned to the waves which swept beyond the glass window of the pinkette's cabin room. They were all discussing the fate which would befall their two prisoners but with little progress being made.

"Why are you defending them?" Sakura shot them both annoyed glares, "They're disgusting! A man should not be with another man! That is not _love_; that is just _wrong_." Both male captains felt a sudden sharp stab in their hearts but knew that they could not declare that she was wrong. That would only turn her suspicions towards the duo in front of her.

"I still don't believe that they are deserving of such a fate as being tarred and feathered…" Sasuke thought for a few moments, "…Make them walk the plank." He turned to look towards Sakura with his expression set and unreadable, "Give them a pirate's death. They have lived upon the ocean as our crew; why not let the ocean live upon them in return…?"

All eyes turned to him with Naruto still gaping in fright. The blond couldn't bear the thought of something similar happening to him and his own lover. He had never thought it possible…

"I like your thinking, Sasuke." The pinkette's eyes turned to the ceiling and she licked her lips thoughtfully, "It's still a public display…I'm sure the crew would be delighted to see them both walk the plank." Sakura leaned forward with a snap and banged her fist upon the table, a snarling grin covering her face, "YES! LET THEM WALK THE PLANK AND TASTE THE BITTEROCEAN IN THEIR LUNGS!" She gave a loud laugh and stood up, beginning to pace while mumbling lowly to her self.

Sasuke and Naruto looked at one another for a few heart wrenching moments. To the blond the two who were destined to die were his friends…Well at least Deidara was. Sasori had made only an enemy onboard the ship but even Sasuke was bitter towards the ordeal. He had pondered greatly upon what the Red Sand Scorpion had told him. If it had not been for the tragedy which Itachi had committed then he would have never met Naruto…

Had it really not been a choice for Itachi?

Death threats would have never worked on the elder Uchiha…The Fire Breather. It hadn't been a choice for Itachi and it had apparently not been a choice for Sasori…Yes they were monsters but perhaps that wasn't enough of an excuse to keep them from being snared by the force that was love.

And there was no doubting that Sasori was in love with Deidara…

"Yes," Sasuke turned away from Naruto, "tomorrow then. They will walk the plank…But for now we must release Sasori temporarily to treat the wounded." Sakura pursed her lips in distaste but gave a nod anyway; her qualms were with Deidara. "I will round up the injured. Naruto can go fetch Sasori…I know for a fact that neither will try to make a run for it."

"Very well," the woman shrugged her shoulders and leaned back in her chair once more, "I think that I shall remain here for now. In the morning both shall die for the disgusting crimes which they have committed." The two males left the room and Sakura remained alone. She watched as the door shut behind them and the grin on her face crumbled immediately, "Just as planned…" The woman was met with silence and she only sat and echoed the void for a time.

A shudder ran up her body and she leaned forward once again. The girl folded her arms on the table and suddenly began to weep…

(Reviews make the world remain spherical)


	19. The Plank

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Nineteen

The Plank

Sasori and Deidara looked up at the sound of footsteps but they were not surprised to see Naruto walk over to the cell. He gripped the bars and looked in at them pleadingly, "Why did you do it? I warned you of the consequences, Deidara! And you," he glared at Sasori, "I know that you're one of the smartest onboard this ship – why would _you_ do such a thing? Sasuke and I have managed to keep our relationship hidden for several years and the two of you couldn't last a month!"

"It couldn't be helped Naruto." Sasori looked at the blond with an expression void of emotion, "Sakura is determined to have Deidara killed – we would have simply been delaying the inevitable…Just like you are." Naruto flushed slightly and looked away, "You can't remain hidden forever onboard this ship. People are bound to find out eventually and when they do they will be far less lenient on you than what they are with us. Sakura would make sure of it."

"You think I don't know that?" His voice was now quiet and the blond was still looking away from him, "…I know that one day Sasuke and I will be caught out, Dattebayo…But that doesn't mean that I won't be careful in the meantime." He was quiet before turning back to them, "But why you two?" Naruto shot the red head a sudden glare, "Were you payed off to make Deidara fall in love with you? Were you just some plot developed by Sakura to snare Deidara?!"

"Danna has nothing to do with that woman," the blonde snarled at Naruto for even thinking something like that of the red head. "If he were then he wouldn't be in this cage with me, un."

Naruto stared at them sorrowfully as if he were looking at his own eventual future… "You're going to walk the plank tomorrow morning…" The blond pulled out a key and unlocked the cell door, "Sasori will have to come with me; there are many injured who must be attended to by the ship's doctor…"

The red head nodded his head solemnly and stood up, "I will only help the injured if you bring us dinner later." Naruto watched him slowly and agreed without hesitation. He swung the door open and Sasori turned to look at his lover. "I will be back soon, Deidara." The blonde nodded and the red head exited the cell, the barred door locking behind him. "Geez, I'd rather walk the dreaded plank than stay another week…"

Deidara watched as they left and he felt bitterness well up in his stomach at the temporary loss of the Red Sand Scorpion.

-x-

Sasori was sitting on the deck, currently bandaging a deep wound in Orochimaru's arm. The crew was solemn and a few had shot him deep glares of bitterness and silent anger. But it wasn't for _being with_ Deidara; it was for being with _Deidara_.

The crew adored the blonde but they were uneasy towards the red head.

They hated that now Deidara would have to die because of his relationship with the doctor.

Orochimaru refused to look at him, gazing away while the red head bandaged his wounded arm. But Sasori was not sensing any anger from the snake; more so despair. He really had begun to view Deidara as a friend rather than a possible victim to his hunger.

The red head nodded to declare that he had finished with the wound and Orochimaru stood up without a word, replaced a few moments later by Kabuto. The boy had a few wounds on him but they were not too deep. Sasori wet a rag in a bowl of salt water and began to clean the wounds so that they would not become infected. "I hope you're happy…"

Kabuto was giving him a very weak glare but had no anger for anything more. Sasori didn't look him in the eyes nor did he say a word; he just sat and cleaned the sad boy's wounds. Kabuto was in the same boat as Orochimaru.

Soon the grey haired male was finished and he stood up, shaking his head ruefully before he too turned and left. Sasori didn't watch him leave as Naruto sat down across from him, "It's just a small wound…" He held out his hand which had bloody rag already wrapped around it, "But Sasuke is making me have it checked out…"

Sasori looked up into Naruto's solemn blue eyes and he slowly untied the knot of the bandage. His gloved hands undid the bandage gradually and he pulled it away so that he could see the wound below. "The cut is actually quite deep; I'll need to wash it to stave off infection." Naruto nodded and Sasori picked up the rag that he had been using over and over. It was very unhygienic but in the conditions there wasn't much else he could do. He cleaned out the wound and silently thought to himself.

He finished and re-wrapped up the wound in a new cloth bandage, giving Naruto a nod. "Thank you Sasori." The blond stood up and left, being the last of the red head's patients. The Akatsuki member began to slowly shake his head but stopped once he heard the sound of footsteps behind him.

"Sasori…" The red head turned to look at the damn woman with her pink hair and her unsure line of a mouth, "I would like to talk with you in my cabin." Remembering his façade he agreed and Sasori followed her to said room. Captain Sakura sat down at the desk while Sasori stood in front of her, giving the woman a look that was a cross between a bitter glare and a stoic mask. "I would like to discuss the recent events with you…"

"You mean how you are going to force Deidara and myself to walk the plank?" She gave a pained expression for a moment before she shook her head, "No?"

"Well…Yes. I have nothing against you Sasori – except for your taste in men." Sakura shook her head, "I hate women too…That is why I'm the only lady onboard the ship. I even understand why you would be attracted to another man. I'm a pirate; not a priest." She looked at him with a burning gaze and the Red Sand Scorpion was genuinely surprised by the conversation. "The point is that I don't need you to walk the plank. Deidara is a lowly street rat who is only onboard because he stole a loaf of bread and ran into me. You're the Lightning Queen's doctor and navigator – both are essential to the crew and to the ship. Deidara is going to walk the plank…But I am giving you the choice to stay onboard."

She looked towards the red head with an almost pleading gaze. She didn't hate the red head and she did not want him to die just because she hated someone else. Sasori was surprised by this sudden change of heart and he knew that Konan had absolutely nothing to do with the situation. This was simple human sympathy and guilt.

It was like how Sasuke wished to see Sasori walk the plank but was afraid of Deidara sharing the fate…It was like how Sasori wanted to see Sasuke plummeting into the icy dark depths but distasted the idea of Naruto following blindly behind him.

"Your offer is well-intentioned but I despise you for ever discussing it…" Sakura flinched in shock, "Deidara is my lover and I would be glad to walk the plank with him at my side. If you believe that I would simply watch him drown with nothing but a passive stare then you are dead wrong." He turned so that his back was towards the woman and he shook his head, "Tomorrow morning we will both walk…And there is nothing to be done." He smiled grimly to himself, "I must accept fate…As others have done before me."

Sakura watched him slowly before her eyes narrowed into a glare, "I hope the sharks eat you slowly and painfully." Sasori was still for a few moments of absolute silence that was only broken when he suddenly began to laugh.

He chortled hard for half a minute until silence was once again established. "I hope the same for you, 'Captain'. I hope the same for you." The red head opened the door and exited without hesitation.

Sakura watched him leave and the door slammed shut behind the male. At this point she was beyond everything. Tears and words would never ease this pressure in her chest.

The ache that she hoped would be soothed by the sight of that damn blonde walking into the sea. He had pitted the entire crew against her and now even the once faithful doctor would rather die than remain onboard without the blonde.

Deidara had ruined _everything_.

And now the only one who was on her side was Konan. Blunt but understanding Konan…And even he had become corrupted – Sakura had sensed it. Konan had changed since that blonde bastard had joined the crew and she knew that if Deidara was involved it could only be a change for the worse.

-x-

The night flew by far quicker than everyone desired and the morning sun was breaking over the oceanic horizon too quickly. Sasori and Deidara were woken up by Orochimaru and Kabuto and they had their hands bound behind their backs. The duo was then led above deck where everyone stood looking still and solemn. They stood as if they were relatives attending a funeral.

"For the crimes which these two have committed," Sakura had her head held high and a determined gleam in her eyes, "Sasori Akasuna and Deidara Iwa are to walk the plank." She grinned but the crew remained stoic, which irritated her silently. "A shark was spotted so perhaps there will be a nice show for us all…First to walk shall be the doctor."

The red head gave a nod and moved forward without a speck of fear on his calm countenance. He looked out at the ocean as he walked onto the board without any hesitation in his actions. Once he had reached the end he stopped and shook his head, "The Sea was so violent," the song came to the red head's lips without fault, "the crew went below. They begged him to join them but he would not go. Sail for a little - for just a little little. Sail for a little until she finds him. Her heart was so laden. She fell by the tree, and sung of some pirate…Who haunted the sea. A wail through the willows. All hollow through the willow willows – she'll wail through the willows until she finds him…"

Silence filled the void and a cold gust of sea air swamped among the crew. Several took off their hats and clutched them to their chests in despair. Sasori watched the lit horizon and shook his head before taking a single step more. Deidara stared as the red head fell and disappeared beneath the surface of the water. Relief filled him once the man surfaced a few moments later but the sight of a shark fin poisoned what relaxation he had felt.

"Now then…" Sakura turned towards the blonde, "Start walking." He blinked at her slowly before giving a frown, straightening his back defiantly as he paced forward. Deidara walked along the plank and stopped at the very edge, looking at the red head and the shark below.

Sasori was watching him while he treaded water and Deidara closed his eyes. He suddenly turned around and gave the crew a wide grin, "You're all welcome, un." The blonde laughed at them before he turned around and jumped off of the plank, a splash filling the air.

They all moved to the railing to gaze overboard into the ocean, staring at the duo in the water…And they were where the story began.

Then the panic took hold of the blonde's beating heart.

Deidara was bobbing in the water, barely managing to tread water with his legs. The blonde's red haired lover was barely a metre away, but he appeared as calm as he always was. "Don't worry, Love." Sasori cooed tenderly, trying to comfort him in the dire situation that could only end in their deaths, "Everything will be alright."

"How can you say that, un?" Deidara gave him a wide eyed look of fear, "HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?! WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" He paled further once he saw the shark fin that began to circle them. This was not supposed to happen!

It pointed towards Sasori and sunk below the water's surface, though the blonde could still see the silver shimmer of the shark – it was headed for the red head. Sasori gave him a small tender smile, "I love you." The red head knew that he wouldn't have the chance to say it later. The shark reached the older male and he disappeared underneath the surface of the water.

"DANNA!" Tears were rolling from his one eye, the liquid mixing with the burning salt water that made up the relentless sea. The people in the pirate ship sadistically laughed, loud enough for the blonde to hear. But it was only two who laughed.

The first was definitely Sakura but the second one was quieter but noticeable all the same. Konan.

Deidara jumped in shock once he saw Sasori suddenly resurface with the ropes around his hands miraculously gone. The red head swam to the blonde easily and began to undo his own bindings, "Sasori, un?"

"The shark is Kisame; he's here to take us away from the ship – not from the world of the living." Sasori was still solemn and the blonde stared at him with his single eye wide with shock. Suddenly the shark moved up next to them and shot the blonde a toothy grin, "Grab on."

Sakura stared at them in awe before it suddenly dawned on her, "…Demon Shark of the South…IT'S THE DEMON SHARK OF THE SOUTH AND SASORI IS THE RED SAND SCORPION!" A wave of absolute terror ran through the crew and several cried out in horror. The pinkette gave a dark sneer and drew her pistol from its holster, aiming straight at Sasori.

Naruto was standing next to her and saw her aim, his body moving instantly. He pushed Sakura just as she fired the pistol, the bullet missing the red head completely. Konan gave a chuckle and shook her head, "Well that's my cue to leave – what had to be done has been done. Move it or lose it!"

The crew turned to look at her curiously as she began to run towards them, the people quickly scrambling out of her way. She ran along the plank and jumped off with a loud laugh. Mid way through the air a swarm of papers suddenly appeared surrounding her form and consuming it.

Suddenly the paper parted in the shape of wings and Konan was now wearing her white dress with dark blue hair flowing to her waist. The crew stared in absolute awe at the Paper Angel, and Kankuro was the first to speak, "No wonder Konan was so good at card games…"

Sasori watched Konan drifting down and gave a triumphant smirk before turning to the blonde. His expression immediately fell and he stared at Deidara with a look of horror. The younger male was reflecting his stare with his own. A pool of blood was forming in the water around him and the bullet wound was obvious in his chest, "…Danna…"

"Deidara!" Sasori grabbed the blonde just as he went limp, stopping him from sinking as he grabbed Kisame's fin with his free hand, "Go to the closest piece of land you can find!"

The shark suddenly began to zoom off with Sasori and Deidara. Konan watched it before she turned to the ship with a wave, "Thank you for having us; I had a great time!" She grinned and turned back around, in pursuit of the rest of the group. A solitary black raven watched the events unfold from the top of the Crow's Nest.


	20. The End

SasoDei – One Gold Doubloon

Chapter Twenty

The End

The Lightning Queen crew stared with mixed emotions as the villains left them, the faces of most having turned ghostly pale. There were but two ideas that were flying around their heads, one inflicting fear and the other boiling their anger.

Sasori and Konan had been the Akatsuki members known as the Red Sand Scorpion and the Angel of White the entire time…

Sakura had shot Deidara.

The pinkette stared with all the others but couldn't help but smirk – this was exactly what she wanted. Deidara was dead and the crew would no longer be turned against her…She gave a sharp cry as she was suddenly slapped across the face and she fell to the deck with a bang. The woman gave a gasp and stared up at her attacker…Naruto stared in absolute shock as well at the sight of Sasuke standing above the woman, panting hard in anger.

"You shot Deidara," his voice was rough with rage and his eyes were burning, "you killed him and now the Akatsuki could come back to kill us! For your petty pride you have endangered your entire crew! They told me who they were long ago and they told me that as long as Deidara came to no harm then no harm would come to us."

The crew stared at him in shock and someone actually whimpered in fear. Naruto put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and watched him with eyes wide and confused, "You knew who they were the entire time, Dattebayo?"

Sasuke looked to his love and sent him an expression of sorrow and sadness, "Not the entire time…But I kept their secret close to my heart so I could keep the person closer to my heart safe and unharmed…" Naruto's eyes widened further and tears began to shimmer in his sea blue orbs.

"…I see…" Sakura was looking down at the wooden deck below her, "All of these years…I was just chasing daydreams of becoming the queen of lightning…It seems that there will only ever be a King…" She turned a blank gaze towards Naruto above her, "A King and a Jester…" Sakura looked between them before shaking her head, shoulders shaking in quiet laughter. They watched her silently as she shakily got to her feet, "I denounce my title as captain of this vessel."

The woman took off her hat and carelessly dropped it onto the hard deck that was still stained with blood in places from the fighting of the previous day. She stepped forward with a dark umbra covering her eyes and the crew was still. It was as if they were trapped in a spell and their bodies were paralysed. The raven above watched the scene with sick surmise.

Sakura took a step onto the plank but stopped after that. Naruto tried to grab her but found that he couldn't even utter a word. Sakura drew her pistol from her holster where she had placed it automatically after killing the blonde. A chill ran through the Lightning Queen survivors but they needn't have feared for their own safety. Sakura opened the barrel and several bullets fell into emptiness until only one remained. She turned to her once loyal crew and the umbra had vanished.

Her cheeks were stained by a trail of tears but she was smiling softly. Wind rustled her short pink hair freely without the restraints of her trademark hat. "That should be my punishment, right? Being marooned on an island with only a single bullet – an option between quick death and long starvation." She smiled tenderly and shook her head, "I will save you the trouble of searching for land."

Sakura turned back to the open sea which spread itself before her. The sun still hung close to the horizon, creating a reflection of shimmers and warmth. Ever since she had been a young orphaned girl in Konoha she had always watched the sea. It had drawn her like a moth to a flame and now she would give herself to it entirely.

She walked forward, stopping at the very end of the plank. Tears were running down Naruto's cheeks at the sight of his friend meeting death with a simple smile. But still his body was at rest and movement was not an option.

Sakura looked to her pistol – had the device always felt so heavy? She looked up to the horizon once more and shook her head. "It's the rule of the ocean…A captain must always go down with her ship…And it seems that mine sunk long ago…"

Her voice crackled with sadness and new unseen tears were running down her cheeks as she brought her pistol up to her temple…

A gunshot cracked the silence.

And movement was restored.

"SAKURA!" Naruto lunged forward but it was too late. Her body was already tumbling into the gentle grasp of the ocean. For a few moments she was cradled and then she was sinking. Her smile had long since disappeared but her expression remained content.

Naruto made a move to jump over the plank as well but was stopped by Sasuke grabbing hold of him. He struggled desperately but after a while he just took to crying against his lover's chest. Sasuke stroked his hair and held him, no longer fearing the reaction of the crew.

The raven looked up to the sunset before it spread its wings and took flight, headed in the direction that the others had vanished in. Sasuke noticed the black bird against the innocent sky, his expression remaining stoic although something twisted inside of him…Itachi…

Sasuke was thankful. In Deidara's death had come the solution to his own problem. No longer would he and Naruto live in fear of their love… "Thank you, Itachi…" It was a whisper that went unheard over the crying of his lover, but it was appropriate nevertheless.

Kabuto stepped forward and picked up Sakura's discarded hat, staring at it with unshed tears in his eyes. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Orochimaru offering him a small smile, "Well it looks like we're now out of a job…Along with Yamato…Let's find someplace warm to dock." Kabuto smiled back at him and nodded his head in agreement.

-x-

Kisame pulled up into the shallows of a lonesome cay which displayed no apparent human life. Sasori grabbed the blonde bridal style and treaded through the water until he was on the sandy shore. He carefully rested his love down and pulled his gloves off hastily before ripping the boy's shirt open.

Deidara's chest was covered in blood and the wound was indescribable. Sasori stared in utter shock for a few moments until he snapped out of the trance. His hands went to the wound and a light aura surrounded his touch. And it started to heal – flesh began to reform and skin slowly grew – but only for a few moments.

Sasori growled and pushed his energy harder but with little results. By this point in time both Kisame and Konan were running over to the duo to see what was happening. The red head clenched his teeth as a sharp pain wracked through his body but he refused to give up on trying to save his beloved.

"Give up Red," Konan shrugged her shoulders, "he's already dead. You can stop a heartbeat in a moment but you will never be able to start one. It's not in your programming. Your healing powers are a miracle and were never pre-planned when you were designed by Pein. Your only purpose is to be a heartless killing machine for the Akatsuki – that is the purpose of all of us." She shrugged and sat down on the sand next to him, "Besides, his soul is probably already in the domain of the lost – he's already seen the light and is walking towards it…"

-o-

Deidara opened his eyes to the darkness that surrounded him, "…Where am I, un?" He sat up with his head a daze and looked around to find that he was in a tunnel. The blonde blinked in surprise as he gazed into the two direct directions that he had to choose from…

The route to the right of him continued into deep foreboding darkness that made him shudder, while the course to his left ended in a warm bright light…

He stood up and turned towards the shine but didn't have to shield either of his eyes. The eye-patch was gone and his eye had returned to him. There was no longer pain in his chest either and he looked down to see no wound at all…

Once more he gazed at the light…It felt warm against his skin and a strange content washed over his mind at the sight. The illumination beckoned to him sweetly and he felt no resistance stir inside of himself as he took a step forward.

-o-

"I don't care!" Sasori growled at Konan and returned to trying to heal the blonde. Kisame sent him a piteous expression before stepping forward and placing his hand on Sasori's shoulder. The red head felt a rush of energy in his body and the pain he felt eased. Deidara's flesh began to once again regenerate and Sasori turned to stare at the Demon Shark of the South, "…Kisame…"

"I understand how much this boy means to you, Red." He grinned at the male with serrated teeth, "The least I can do is help."

Konan stared in shock…Why was Kisame trying to bring back the dead as well? He had never even met Deidara and yet he was willing to try to save him…

There was a sudden caw and the three turned to see a raven beginning to land on the cay. Just as it was touching the ground the bird's body began to shift until none other than Itachi Uchiha stood before them. "What needed to be done has been done, Konan." The fallen angel blinked at him before slowly nodding her head in recognition. Itachi turned to the two who were trying to resurrect the blonde and he frowned at them, "His body has no soul; healing him will not do any good."

"I don't care…" Sasori narrowed his eyes at the Fire Breather before turning back to the blonde. Itachi sighed with a wisp of flame exiting his mouth, shaking his head in annoyance. He stepped forward and placed his hand on Sasori's other shoulder. Energy churned through the red head and the blonde's flesh and skin began to grow at an ever faster pace. Sasori looked to the raven before giving him a sad smile, "Thank you."

Itachi nodded and Konan stared in absolute confusion. Itachi and Kisame had never even met the blonde before and yet…

Konan felt a stab in her chest and a shudder ran through her body…What was this feeling?

A few minutes flew by quickly and the blonde's wounds were finally healed. But his eyes remained closed and his chest would not rise with breath. "He still has no soul…And there is only one among us who has the ability to travel to the land of the lost spirits…" Itachi turned to look at Konan steadily.

She jumped in shock and quickly shook her head, "Never! To bring back a departed soul is the harshest crime for an angel to commit! That would also mean changing the future! I'd be stripped of my wings and-" Konan cut herself off with a gasp at what she had said…

"You lost your wings long ago, Konan." She stared at Itachi in shock, "No longer are you what you were made to be…You're not an angel anymore; you're an Akatsuki member."

"…" She looked away from them as she thought to herself…A flash of memory appeared in her mind – the sight of a young blonde boy…Dirty and hungry…With no family or friends or future…Until he had grown up. Then he had become Konan's friend. He was one of the few who had known what she was but had held no hatred for the fallen beauty, "…I can only bring him back if he goes towards the darkness instead of the light…The chances are slim…" Her paper wings formed once again and wrapped around her fragile body, "But I will try…For my friend."

-o-

"I wouldn't go that way if I were you."

Deidara jumped at the voice and quickly spun around, eyes wide and mouth gaping at the sight of the woman, "…You! What are you doing here, un?"

None other than Sakura stood several paces behind him with her usual snob expression in place but her captain's hat being no where in sight. "I'm dead you moron, why else would I be here? You really are a stupid uneducated street rat…" Deidara glared at her viciously and she shook her head, "Now as I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me…" She motioned towards the bright light ahead, "I would not go in that direction if I were you. What you're seeking is in the darkness over there."

She pointed back down the tunnel and Deidara gazed towards the looming emptiness which seemed to be pressing him back. The blonde frowned in confusion and turned to Sakura, "What's there?"

"For you, street scum?" She snickered ironically, "Everything. Light, love and life…"

Deidara frowned at her suspiciously, "Then why don't you go that way? You're going towards the light as well, un."

Sakura sniggered and gazed snidely into the darkness, "Because there is nothing for me back there. There is no light. There is no love…" He expression became almost sad and regretful, "…There is no life…Only darkness, death and sharks…I can't return but you can."

Deidara stared at the darkness but the power of it seemed to once again push him back, "Sasori is in that direction?" Her head nodded but her eyes were staring at the light that lay before her – it called to her so desperately and she was struggling to resist its pleas, "…Why should I trust you, un? You're the one who killed me!"

Sakura managed to close her eyes and a sly smile curved her lips. "Because street rat…Everything that I have done thus far has been wrong…And for once in my life I want to do something right…" She shook her head ironically and opened her eyes, starting her walk towards the light. "Take my advice or leave it…You'll find a friend waiting for you and when you find them…Thank her." Deidara watched her as she walked towards the light but he had to gaze away in order to resist its calls.

He instead stared into the darkness that both awaited him and repulsed him. It told him to turn and go into the light with all of its will but he took a step forward. Deidara took another step and soon he was walking towards the yawning depths. It was as if a great wave were pushing him back but still he kept on, knowing that at the end of the darkness waited a different light…

"DEIDARA!" A familiar voice called out his name and he jumped in surprise as the force against him began to ease. Soon it had disappeared entirely and he stood in the still darkness, looking around frantically.

"I'M HERE!" A wide grin broke out on his face as a small white light appeared a few paces away. It was small and floating but the voice that was calling to him from it was so familiar. He took those final steps and reached his hand out for the light…

-x-

Deidara's remaining eye opened slowly and his vision was blurred for several moments. He was staring up at a stone ceiling and he was definitely lying on a bed somewhere… "Where am I, un?"

"You're at the AkatsukiTemple." Deidara jumped in surprise at the familiar voice and turned to see a woman standing beside his bed. "You have been unconscious for a week while your soul once again adjusted to your physical self." He blinked at the angel and looked down at his chest to see that he was shirtless but without the bullet wound. "Welcome back."

"…I was dead…" He stared at his chest in awe and then looked up towards Konan, "…I saw a light…And I went towards it but…" He jumped in shock once again, "Sakura was there!"

"Yes," Konan nodded her head, "I was told by Itachi that Sakura committed suicide just after we left."

"She told me to tell you…Thank you, un…" The bluenette blinked at him in surprise before smiling tenderly at the young male.

"…I owe you an apology, Deidara…You are a dear friend of mine and in this cruel world I know exactly how important that is…" She turned her back towards the blonde and Deidara heard the woman give a small laugh, "I sent Sasori away but I shall go fetch him…Thank you for your memories as well…One of generosity, one of pain, one of honesty, one of terror and one of joy. Welcome to the Akatsuki."

Deidara watched her leave and frowned to himself…Some of his memories had been removed…? He tried to recall which memories were no longer but of course failed in his plight. The blonde gave up and soon the door opened to reveal his red headed lover.

He stared stoically at the blonde for a few moments before pacing up to the bed. Deidara was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace and he quickly returned it, "Danna…"

"Don't you dare die on me again, Brat." Sasori held him tighter and refused to let go, "I won't allow it." Deidara blinked before his lips curved into a fine smile.

"I love you too, Danna…" The blonde closed his unbroken eye and held the red head close, "I love you too…"

Konan watched them from the doorway before sighing in nostalgia. She had betrayed the two deadly sins of the angel race – to never bring back a soul and to never change the future. By saving Deidara she had also rescued Sasori. With the blonde at his back in five years time he was no longer at the risk of being stabbed through the heart.

Both would live long lives among the Akatsuki…

Konan continued to walk down the stone hallway but stopped at a strange sound beneath her foot. She blinked and gazed down at the floor, her amber eyes catching on to an equally gold light…

The fallen angel bent over and picked up the treasure, laying it flat in her open palm… "Well what do you know…? One gold doubloon…" She smiled ironically and shook her head, "Welcome to the world of the Akatsuki Pirates, Deidara…I mean…The 'Golden Shot'…Keep him safe Red Sand…He was hard to find and easy to lose…Keep him safe."

The End


End file.
